Anti-defection law is a must, but who will be bold enough to introduce it?

I’m writing with reference to the very thought-provoking article by Javid Yusuf in his weekly column ‘In the National Interest’ which appeared in the Sunday Times, a few weeks ago.

Mr. Yusuf emphasised that an ‘anti- defection law’ is a must. Present-day politicians have taken it as a right to change their party affiliations to suit their whims and fancies once they are elected by the gullible voters in their respective constituencies. This fact was quite evident in the recent fiasco staged by several unbridled Parliamentarians.

This scenario was tragic and an absolute betrayal of the voters who placed full confidence in them and expected them to perform their duties for the betterment of the country and their respective constituents. The writer in this article clearly expresses his view - when an elected representative to the Parliament wishes to change colours, he should make an explicit utterance on the floor of the House. As the writer points out, all such changes in their allegiance to another party should be recorded for prosperity.

No leader has brought forth any drastic measures to prevent crossovers, all of them including the party leaders are solely focused on fostering their strength in Parliament and providing unnecessary perks and privileges to these socalled people’s representatives. Some bold measures are needed to curtail this trend of wasting poor taxpayers’ money. We expect an honourable leader to take steps to alleviate the suffering of the people.

Of course I am yet contemplating the emergence of such a leader for our country – it will take donkeys’ years to inculcate such ethics in our parliamentarians.

Lionel Caldera Battaramulla