The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The Himachal Pradesh assembly on Wednesday (September 4) has approved a Bill to deter MLAs from switching parties by withholding pension of members disqualified under the anti-defection law.
The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Amendment Bill 2024, introduced by chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, stipulates that any member disqualified under the tenth schedule of the constitution will forfeit their pension entitlement. Moreover, the legislation enables the recovery of pensions already drawn by disqualified members, The Indian Express reported.
“A person shall not be entitled to a pension under the Act if he has been disqualified at any point of time under the tenth schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law),” according to the bill, as per the report.
Currently, legislators serving up to five years are eligible for a monthly pension of Rs 36,000, with an additional Rs 1,000 for each year beyond their first term. The anti-defection law, enacted in 1985, aims to prevent political defections.
Notably, six Congress MLAs were disqualified in Himachal Pradesh in February under the anti-defection law for defying the party whip during the budget discussions.
In recent years, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh saw the removal of non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments due to defections and splits.