Demerits

♤ The Act reduces the accountability of the government to the Parliament and the people by preventing members of the House from changing the party.

♤ It restrains the basic freedom of speech and expression of the parliamentarians and reduces them from thinking lawmakers to mere numbers required for passing a Bill.

♤ The decision of presiding officer (PO) as final has also been problematic in the past. However, in the Kihoto Hollohan vs. Zachillhu case, the Supreme Court held that the decision of PO is subject to judicial review.

Thus, the need of the hour is to strengthen the Law by creating mechanisms for greater inner-party democracy, limiting the usage of whips and referring the anti-defection cases to president/governor. Also, we need to create a disincentive for political parties from accepting defecting legislators in their fold.