The Central government should amend the Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act, 1985, popularly known as the anti-defection law, to not only disqualify MPs and MLAs defecting to another party within a set time frame but bar them from contesting elections for a period of six years, former Union Minister Kotla Jayasuryaprakash Reddy said on Monday.
The amendment was imperative as the defected MPs and MLAs in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were getting away owing to loopholes in the anti-defection law, he said here. The six-year ban on contest in vogue for public representatives on their conviction should be extended to defectors, he added.
A tricky situation existed in Nandyal as members of the Bhuma and Silpa families had not only defected but were contesting on behalf of the other parties, he remarked.
With the TDP and the YSRC candidates changing parties, people were confused as to who was on which side, he said. Both candidates were distributing money to voters, he alleged. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who demonetised high value currency and vowed to unearth black money, should depute Central teams to check the use of money by contestants in the Nandyal byelections, Mr. Jayasuryaprakash Reddy demanded.
Congress candidate
Stating that the Congress would field a candidate in the Nandyal bypoll, he said the names of five party leaders were sent to the AICC for selection of a candidate.
Referring to the TDP and YSRC candidates as non-locals, the Congress leader said the party would field a local candidate, preferably a Muslim, in Nandyal. The Congress might not win but would be a deciding factor in the bypoll, he felt.
The Congress leaders would campaign with the agenda of special category status, augmentation of irrigation and drinking water, Kundu flood protection wall and establishment of railway midlife coach factory in Kurnool that would generate considerable employment, Mr. Jayasuryaprakash Reddy said.
The TDP as well as the YSRC were taking the Nandyal bypoll prestigiously as the verdict would reflect the voting trend for the 2019 polls, he said.