New Delhi, April 25: Senior Supreme Court advocate and independent Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal asserted on Saturday that the recent move by seven Aam Aadmi Party MPs to join the BJP is legally invalid. Sibal stated that the merger of two-thirds of a legislative party cannot be recognized under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution unless the parent political organization has first merged with the other party.
“First, the parties must merge, then the issue of MPs comes after that,” Sibal declared. He maintained that the anti-defection law is specific in its requirement that a national-level political party must pass an organizational resolution to join another entity before its elected representatives can claim a legal merger. Sibal noted that since the AAP party organization remains distinct, the action taken by the seven members, including Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak, is not legally correct.
The senior lawyer described the defection as a strategic political move orchestrated by the BJP. He affirmed that while AAP has the right to file disqualification petitions against the members, the complexities of the Indian legal system mean such matters often take years to resolve.
Sibal also suggested that the current political shift in the Upper House could have broader implications for regional stability. “By then, we may see a similar division in Punjab,” Sibal maintained, pointing toward potential future friction within the state’s legislative ranks. He asserted that the current maneuver circumvents the spirit of the anti-defection law by attempting a legislative merger without the consent of the founding political party.
