[Mission 2023] Insta– QUED ( Questions from Editorials ) 02 July 2022

Solution: c)

Anti Defection Law:

• The anti-defection law punishes individual Members of Parliament (MPs)/MLAs for leaving one party for another.
• Parliament added it to the Constitution as theTenth Schedule in 1985.
• Its purpose was to bring stability to governments by discouraging legislators from changing parties.
• The Tenth Schedule –popularly known as the Anti-Defection Act – was included in the Constitution via the 52nd Amendment Act, 1985.
• As per the 1985 Act, a ‘defection’ by one-third of the elected members of a political party was considered a ‘merger’.
• But the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003,changed this and now at least two-thirds of the members of a party must be in favour of a “merger” for it to have validity in the eyes of the law.
• The members disqualified under the law can stand for elections from any political party for a seat in the same House.
• The decision on questions as to disqualification on ground of defection are referred to the Chairman or the Speaker of such House, which is subject to ‘Judicial review’.
• However, the law does not provide a timeframe within which the presiding officer has to decide a defection case.

Grounds of Disqualification:

• If an elected member voluntarily gives up his membership of a political party.
• If he votes or abstains from voting in such House contrary to any direction issued by his political party or anyone authorized to do so, without obtaining prior permission.
• As a pre-condition for his disqualification, his abstention from voting should not be condoned by his party or the authorized person within 15 daysof such incident.
• If any independently elected memberjoins any political party.
• If any nominated member joins any political party after the expiry of six months.

Solution: d)

Floor Test:

• It is a term used for the test of the majority. If there are doubts against the Chief Minister (CM) of a State, he/she can be asked to prove the majority in the House.
• In case of a coalition government, the CM may be asked to move a vote of confidence and win a majority.
• In the absence of a clear majority, when there is more than one individual stake to form the government, the Governor may call for a special session to see who has the majority to form the government.
• Some legislators may be absent or choose not to vote.
• The numbers are then considered based only on those MLAs who were present to vote.

Governor’s power to call for a floor test is not restricted only before the inception of a State government immediately after elections, but continues throughout its term.

Solution: d)

Western Ghats traverses the states of Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight hotspots of biological diversity in the world.

According to UNESCO, the Western Ghats are older than the Himalayas. 

Anamudi is a mountain located in Ernakulam district and Idukki district of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the highest peak in the Western Ghats and in South India.

Solution: b)

The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, is an international agreement governing copyright, which was first accepted in Berne, Switzerland, in 1886.

The Berne Convention formally mandated several aspects of modern copyright law; it introduced the concept that a copyright exists the moment a work is “fixed”, rather than requiring registration. It also enforces a requirement that countries recognize copyrights held by the citizens of all other parties to the convention.