In a bid to curb political defections, the State Assembly of Himachal Pradesh has passed a law aimed at denying pension benefits to members who defect to other parties. The move falls in line with efforts to ensure political stability by trying to discourage the very frequent hopping of parties that undermines democratic processes.Political defections, where elected representatives switch their party allegiance after elections, have been considered an odious phenomenon for quite some time now in Indian politics. In fact, such political defection, based usually on motives of personal gain or political opportunism, leads to the loss of public faith in the political system and erodes the very foundation of representative democracy. With this in view, the Himachal Pradesh government brought in a bill with the specific purpose of taking aim at defecting MLAs.In essence, the new law tries to be a deterrent to defections-a sort of surgical strike-that hits where it hurts most: the pension benefits entitled to MLAs after completing their tenure. To the government, denial of pension should ensure that defectors turn politically loyal and represent the mandate that was entrusted on them by the voters.The rule contained in the statute is that an MLA who defects from the party on whose ticket they got elected would thereby forfeit their pension rights. MLAs who have given up their membership in the concerned party to join any other party or who have voted against or voted for a no-confidence motion against their own party, were brought within the ambit of the statute. The relevant legislation treats all defections to be constitutionally disallowed for whatever reasons the MLA citing the reasons of defection.The bill also provides for the procedure to be followed in determining the defection of an MLA. A complaint shall have to be lodged to the Speaker of the Assembly, who shall then conduct an inquiry into the matter. It is on these grounds that when found guilty by the Speaker, the pension benefits are therefore taken away.This is seen to bring a sea-change in the political aspect of Himachal Pradesh. The legislation is likely to result in more political stability because defection will turn out to be very costly, and the MLAs will desist from switching over to other parties for a short-term gain. It also reinstates the fact that public service must be governed by principles rather than individual interests.However, the law has polarized political analysts and opposition parties, some even terming it a tool that could be used to suppress dissent within parties. There have also been complaints from quarters opposed to the operation of the law that the Speaker's role in determining defections may be open to political influence.