top of page

By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

‘Now, political defections possible without losing seat’

The recent ‘experiments’ in Ambernath and Akot civic bodies have created a political storm. Renowned legal expert, Barrister Vinod Tiwari, President of Council for Protection of Rights (CPR), gives a perspective to the row while interacting with Quaid Najmi. Excerpts... What is the Anti-Defection Law under the Indian Constitution? The Anti-Defection Law is part of the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. It was introduced through the 52nd Constitutional Amendment in 1985. The main...

‘Now, political defections possible without losing seat’

The recent ‘experiments’ in Ambernath and Akot civic bodies have created a political storm. Renowned legal expert, Barrister Vinod Tiwari, President of Council for Protection of Rights (CPR), gives a perspective to the row while interacting with Quaid Najmi. Excerpts... What is the Anti-Defection Law under the Indian Constitution? The Anti-Defection Law is part of the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. It was introduced through the 52nd Constitutional Amendment in 1985. The main purpose is to stop elected representatives – MPs and MLAs - from switching political parties after elections for personal/political gain. It aims to ensure political stability, respect the mandate of voters, and prevent unethical political practices. Under this law, an elected representative can be disqualified if he/she voluntarily gives up the party membership or vote against their party’s official direction (whip). There are limited exceptions, like when two-thirds of a party’s members agree to merge with another party. The Speaker or Chairman decides disqualification cases, but their decisions can be reviewed by courts.   Is there a similar Anti-Defection law for local bodies in Maharashtra? Keeping in mind the spirit of the Tenth Schedule, Maharashtra enacted the Maharashtra Local Authority Members’ Disqualification Act, 1986 (enforced in 1987). It applies to Municipal Councils and other local bodies and was meant to stop the elected councillors from hopping across parties post-elections, and preserve the voters’ mandate at the local level.   Why is there so much unrest in the 2025-2026 civic bodies elections? The root cause lies in post-poll alliances, which have been made legally easier through amendments to Section 63 of the Maharashtra Municipal Councils Act, 1965. They allow political parties and/or councillors to form post-election fronts or groups. Over time, political parties have collectively and deliberately weakened the 1986 Disqualification Act, and it is now what I would call a “toothless tiger.” Hence, the strange and opportunistic post-elections alliances witnessed in Ambernath (Thane) and Akot (Akola), and some others after the December 20 municipal council elections.   How exactly was the Anti-Defection law diluted? It was through a quietly crafted amendment to Section 63 of the Municipal Councils Act, 1965, which was implemented after the 2016 local bodies elections, although the Disqualification Act remained on paper. It allows councillors and political parties - within one month of election results - to form a post-poll group or alliance, even if they contested elections separately. Once registered, this newly-formed group is treated as if it were a pre-poll alliance, and the Anti-Defection law applies only after that point. This effectively ‘legalised defections disguised as alliances’.   What were the repercussions? Another major blow came when the State Government amended the law to give itself appellate powers in Anti-Defection cases involving local bodies. Earlier, decisions were taken by Commissioners or Collectors. Now, any aggrieved councillor can appeal to the State Government, which becomes the final authority. This has given huge relief to defectors, especially when the ruling party controls the state government. Now elected representatives brazenly switch sides, aware they may not face serious consequences.   What is the long-term fallout of this trend? These amendments have made post-poll “marriages of convenience” the new political norm. The ruling party always has an unfair advantage, often forming governments without securing a clear electoral majority. This completely undermines democracy and voter trust, besides going contrary to the original purpose of the Anti-Defection Law.

Why Is Bollywood Silent?

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Before the Hema Committee Report, The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) was formed by a group of female actors from the Malayalam film industry after the assault of a female actor by a male colleague in 2017. WCC had insisted that A.M.M.A (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) should have an IC, but then there was the debate was about having ICs (Internal Committees) at each production unit. However, the recent uproar led to the resignation of acclaimed director Ranjith, the head of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman handed his resignation, bowing to Kerala government pressure two days after Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra accused him of having touched her inappropriately. This was followed by super star Mohan Babu as head of A.M.M.A. along with his colleagues who resignated from the organization.

“It has been planned to recommend to the government that forming of IC should be made mandatory while registering the name of a movie and the existence of the IC should be specified while call sheets are given to the cast and crew,” said Sandhya, who had been guiding the WCC legally to form ICs in the film industry.

However, though women from general professions do carry complaints to the police, the molester and the harasser goes scot-free, and their voices are silenced at the outset, in case of women working in the film industry, from a costume designer to an art director to a junior artist or top actress, there is a collective wall of silence that stops the victims from even approaching the police because their very employment in the film industry is directly linked to their compromise to sexual acts by men in power because if they refuse, they will be quietly and not so quietly will be ousted out of the industry.

The Hema Committee report released on August 27, has exposed the rampant abuse of power and status by power-wielding men in the Malayalam film industry. It states, “The Indian society is at a critical juncture where it is faced with the issue of a nefarious rape culture that normalises sexual abuse of women in the workplace. In light of the recent Kolkata gang rape-murder case as well as the Malayalam film industry exposé, it is important that we demand a change and justice for the survivors and victims of sexual violence. This is not just an isolated issue. Rape culture spares none and makes the marginalised even more vulnerable.”

Interestingly, the Report is based on real-life experiences of forced sexual harassment made by actors and other women who have been victims in the hands of very powerful men who hold control of the film industry in Kerala.

Two weeks after the Hema Committee report sent shockwaves across several Indian film industries, artistes from the Kannada film industry (KFI) have responded to the ongoing issue. After actor Sruthi Hariharan demanded a panel in Sandalwood similar to that of Hema Committee, members of Film Industry For Rights and Equality (FIRE) have asked the Karnataka government to constitute a committee headed by a retired judge to study and report on issues faced by women, including sexual harassment in the industry.

FIRE was formed during the #MeToo wave in 2018 when Sruthi accused actor Arjun Sarja of sexual harassment. A not-for-profit organisation under the Societies Act to tackle sexual harassment and casting couch in the industry, FIRE is led by filmmaker Kavita Lankesh, president of the panel. Actor Chetan Ahimsa serves as the secretary. Incidentally, Kavita Lankesh is the sister of Gowri Lankesh who was brutally murdered some years ago.

There is also the allegation by the VIP perpetrators is that there is no sexual harassment as sexual relationships are consensual that is, based on the ‘consent’ of the women concerned. Theword ‘consensual’ is an adjective derived from the noun ‘consensus.’ English is a tricky language where words often have subjective interpretations that differ from person to person and from place to place while in some cases, over a period of time, they acquire definite meanings. The word “consensual” has almost exclusively come to be associated between two or more people who mutually agree to sexual activity, agenda unknown.

The main difference between sexual harassment at the workplace and the casting couch lies in the difference between forced sex and consensual sex. But in some cases, as Weinstein’s famous and not-so-famous victims have stated, “consensual sex” can also be forced. But then, it becomes a question of the powerful versus the vulnerable and in these cases, sexual pressure and blackmail is a war between the powerful and the vulnerable, where the ‘vulnerable’ is not necessarily weak and without options.

It is rather strange that Bollywood, the most internationally popular film industry in India, maintains an explosive silence on the very phrase “sexual harassment at the workplace” as if itdoes not exist. But it does. The same goes for the Bengali, Marathi and other film industries where women prefer to remain silent for the fear of being thrown out of the industry following which, it would perhaps be impossible for them to get another job. Had they backed the Hema Committee Report, the movement would have been much stronger than it is becoming now.

This is a never-ending story filled with stories of exploitation by powerful men conditioned by patriarchy of women brought up to believe that they are weak which they are not. The only way to close this is by quoting Martin Luther King who said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Comments

bottom of page