Topic 1: Cross-Voting in Rajya Sabha Elections

Why in news?

The Rajya Sabha elections in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka witnessed cross-voting by MLAs belonging to different parties. This has once again raised concerns about the sanctity of the election process.

When did cross-voting begin to occur?

• As per Article 80 of the Constitution, representatives of each State to the Rajya Sabha are elected indirectly by the elected members of their Legislative Assembly. The polls for Rajya Sabha will be required only if the number of candidates exceed the number of vacancies.
• Till 1998, the outcome of Rajya Sabha elections were usually a foregone conclusion. The candidates nominated by various parties, according to their strength in the Assembly, used to be elected unopposed. However, the June 1998 Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra witnessed cross-voting that resulted in the loss of a Congress party candidate.

 

What measures were taken to stop cross voting in Rajya Sabha Election?

• In order to rein in the MLAs from such cross-voting, an amendment to the Representation of the People Act, 1951 was carried out in 2003.
• Section 59 of the Act was amended to provide that the voting in elections to Rajya Sabha shall be through an open ballot.
• The MLAs of political parties are required to show their ballot paper to the authorised agent of their Party. Not showing the ballot paper to the authorised agent or showing it to anyone else will disqualify the vote.
• Independent MLAs are barred from showing their ballots to anyone.

 

What does the Tenth Schedule state?

• The 52nd constitutional amendment introduced the ‘anti-defection’ law through the Tenth Schedule in 1985.
• This Schedule provides that a member of a House of Parliament or State legislature who voluntarily gives up the membership of their political party or votes against the instructions of their party in a House are liable for disqualification from such House. This instruction with respect to voting is issued by the ‘whip’ of a party.

 

However, the elections to Rajya Sabha are not treated as a proceeding within the Legislative Assembly. The Election Commission, drawing reference to Supreme Court judgments, had issued a clarification in July 2017. It specified that the provisions of the Tenth Schedule, with respect to voting against the instruction of the party, will not be applicable for a Rajya Sabha election. Furthermore, political parties cannot issue any ‘whip’ to its members for such elections.

 

What have been the Supreme Court rulings?

• The Supreme Court in Kuldip Nayar versus Union of India (2006), upheld the system of open ballot for Rajya Sabha elections. It reasoned that if secrecy becomes a source for corruption, then transparency has the capacity to remove it.
• However, in the same case the court held that an elected MLA of a political party would not face disqualification under the Tenth Schedule for voting against their party candidate. He/she may at the most attract disciplinary action from their political party.
• The Supreme Court has also held in Ravi S. Naik and Sanjay Bandekar versus Union of India (1994), that voluntarily giving up membership under the Tenth Schedule is not synonymous with only formally resigning from the party to which the member belongs. The conduct of a member both inside and outside the house can be looked into to infer if it qualifies as voluntarily giving up membership.
• It may be noted that the six Congress MLAs, who cross-voted in Himachal Pradesh, have been disqualified under the Tenth Schedule for defying the party whip and being absent during the passage of the Budget in the Assembly.

What can be the way forward?

• The Supreme Court in the case of the Chandigarh Mayoral election had observed that it will not allow democracy to be murdered. Cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections is a serious threat to democracy.
• The court may therefore initiate a suo moto Public Interest Litigation in this matter or take it up when the order by the Himachal Pradesh Speaker disqualifying the six MLAs eventually comes up before it on appeal. It may, in that process, review its own order in the Kuldip Nayar case in light of its judgment in the Ravi Naik case.
• Voting by an MLA against his/her political party in a Rajya Sabha election may well be construed as a strong reason to infer that the member had voluntarily given up membership of such party. If the court decides so, this would be a valid ground for disqualification under the Tenth Schedule. It would hopefully act as a deterrent against such cross-voting in the future.

 

Topic 2: RARE DISEASES

What are rare diseases?

A rare disease is generally understood as one that occurs infrequently within a population, and thus, the definition of what constitutes a rare disease varies among nations. The World Health Organization defines a rare disease as a debilitating lifelong condition with a prevalence of 1 or less per 1,000 population.

However, different countries establish their definitions based on their specific requirements, population, healthcare systems, and resources.

• In the U.S., rare diseases are those affecting fewer than 200,000 patients.
• The European Union defines rare diseases as those affecting no more than 5 in 10,000 people.
• In India, there is currently no standard definition, but the Organization of Rare Diseases – India suggests that a disease is considered rare if it affects 1 in 5,000 people or less.

What is the national policy on rare disease?

National Policy on Rare Diseases: It was issued in March 2021, and it’s the first national policy on rare disease.

The policy aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. Lower the incidence and prevalence of rare diseases.
2. Implement an integrated and comprehensive preventive strategy.
3. Generate awareness about rare diseases.
4. Conduct premarital, post-marital, pre-conception, and post-conception screening.
5. Provide counselling programs to prevent the birth of children with rare diseases.
6. Ensure access to affordable healthcare for patients with rare diseases, considering resource constraints and competing healthcare priorities.

 

This policy categorises rare diseases in 3 classified groups as follows:

Group 1: Disorders manageable to 1 to 2 times of curative treatment.

Group 2: Diseases that require lifelong or long-term treatment.

Group 3: Disorders with ideal treatment and challenges to benefit a maximum patient with optimum service. It also includes diseases of very high cost and persisting therapy.

 

 

What is the initiative under the National Policy on Rare Diseases?

Under the Policy, initiatives for treatment support for patients of rare diseases include:

 

1. Financial Support:

• The Central Government offers financial aid up to Rs. 20 lakhs under the Umbrella Scheme of Rashtriya Arogaya Nidhi. This support is directed towards the treatment of rare diseases that necessitate one-time treatment (Group 1 diseases).
• The Union Government in May 2022 had allocated ₹50 lakh per patient for the treatment of all rare diseases across the country.

 

2. State Government Support: State Governments have the option to support patients with rare diseases that can be managed through special diets, hormonal supplements, or other relatively low-cost interventions (Group 2 diseases).

 

3. Voluntary Crowd-Funding: There are provisions for crowd funding from corporate sectors. Donors will be able to view the details of patients and donate funds to a particular hospital. This will enable donors from various sections of the society to donate funds, which will be utilized for treatment of patients suffering from rare diseases, especially those under Group 3 disease.

 

4. National Consortium for Research and Development: The National Policy for Rare Diseases, 2021 advocates for a National Consortium for Research and Development on therapeutics for Rare Diseases. This consortium aims to expand research, development, technology transfer, and indigenization of therapeutics for rare diseases.