Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu / No pension for defecting MLAs, which bill has Sukhu government passed?

Himachal Pradesh has passed a bill to stop the pension of MLAs who change parties. According to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the pension of MLAs disqualified under the anti-defection law will now be stopped. This bill will be applicable on six rebel MLAs of Congress.

Vikrant Shekhawat : Sep 05, 2024, 09:19 AM
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu: The Himachal Pradesh government has recently passed an important bill, which aims to abolish the right to pension for MLAs who change parties. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday introduced the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Members' Allowances and Pension) Amendment Bill, 2024. According to this bill, if an MLA is disqualified under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, his pension will be stopped.

The bill aims to prevent MLAs from changing parties. Under this, the pension of six rebel Congress MLAs – Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetan Sharma, and Devinder Kumar – will be stopped. These MLAs had joined the BJP in violation of the party whip.

Along with the bill, there has also been a controversy over the issue of salary of government employees and pensioners in Himachal Pradesh. Chief Minister Sukhu announced that the employees will be given salary and pension on September 5 and pensioners on September 10. This step has been taken to save interest on the loan, which will save Rs 36 crore annually.

What is the reason behind stopping the pension?

In fact, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday introduced the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Members' Allowances and Pension) Amendment Bill, 2024, which was passed by voice vote after discussion. The purpose of this bill is to stop the pension of MLAs and prevent them from changing parties. According to this bill, if a person has been disqualified at any time under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution (Anti-Defection Law), he will not be entitled to pension under the Act. Till now, under Section 6B of the Act, every MLA serving for a period of up to five years is entitled to a pension of Rs 36,000 per month.

6 Congress MLAs disqualified

The reason behind the bill passed in Himachal Pradesh is being seen as the defection of Congress MLAs in the recent past. Six Congress MLAs Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Indra Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetan Sharma and Devinder Kumar were disqualified under the anti-defection law in February this year as they violated the party whip by not being present in the House during the passing of the 2024-25 budget and discussion on the cut motion.

Controversy over the matter related to the salary of employees

At the same time, there was also a controversy in Himachal Pradesh over the matter related to the salary of government employees. On this, CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said in the assembly that the employees will be given salary on September 5 and pension to pensioners on September 10. Till the financial condition of the state improves, salary-pension will be given to the employees and pensioners on this date. The Chief Minister said that this decision has been taken to avoid the interest spent on the loan. This will save Rs 36 crore annually.