Defection should not be protected at all: Mukul Rohatgi

In an interview with India Today Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai, former Attorney General of India and senior Supreme Court advocate Mukul Rohatgi discusses the recent defection of seven Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MPs to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Rohatgi explains that under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, the defection is legally protected since two-thirds of the legislature party merged with another party. He notes regarding the Rajya Sabha chairperson's swift approval, 'I don't think the chairman had any option but to accept it.' However, Rohatgi expresses his personal disagreement with the current anti-defection law. He argues, "This defection business should not be protected at all. Even if one person leaves the party that gave him the post—whether in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, or through an electoral mandate in the Lok Sabha—if he chooses to quit that mandate, it should be deemed a resignation."