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The Ninety-first Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003, restricts the size of a Council of Ministers to 15% of the total number of members in Lok Sabha (House of People) or a State Legislative Assembly. The Amendment also strengthened anti defection laws, and withdrew the protection to a member of a House from disqualification on the ground of defection in case of split in the political party. ==Constitutional changes== Section 2 of the 91st Amendment amended article 75 of the Constitution so as to insert new clauses (1A) and (1B). Clause (1A) has provided that the total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed fifteen per cent of the total number of members of the House of the People. Under clause (1B), a member of either House of Parliament belonging to any political party who is disqualified for being a member of that House under Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule, shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a Minister under clause (1) for duration of the period commencing from the date of his disqualification till the date on which the term of his office as such member would expire or where he contests any election to either House of Parliament before the expiry of such period, till the date on which he is declared elected, whichever is earlier. Two new clauses (1A) and (1B) have also been inserted in article 164 of the Constitution. Clause (1A), inter alia, provides that the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in a State shall not exceed fifteen per cent of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that State. The number of Ministers, including Chief Minister, in a State shall not be less than twelve. Under clause (1B), a member of the Legislative Assembly of a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council, belonging to any political party who is disqualified for being a member of that House under Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule, shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a Minister under clause (1) for duration of the period commencing from the date of his disqualification till the date on which the term of is office as such member would expire or where he contests any election to the Legislative Assembly of a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council, as the case may be, before the expiry of such period, till the date on which he is declared elected, whichever is earlier.〔 Section 4 inserted a new article 361B has been inserted which, inter alia, provides that a member of a House, belonging to any political party, who is disqualified for being a member of the House under Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule shall also be disqualified to hold any remunerative political post for duration of the period commencing from the date of this disqualification till the date on which the term of his office as such member would expire or till the date on which he contests an election to a House and is declared elected, whichever is earlier. The expression “remunerative political post” means any office under the Government of India or the Government of a State where the salary or remuneration for such office is paid out of the public revenue of the Government of India or the Government of the State, as the case may be; or under a body, whether incorporated or not, which is wholly or partially owned by the Government of India or the Government of a State and the salary or remuneration for such office is paid by such body, except where such salary or remuneration paid is compensatory in nature.〔 Section 5 of the Amendment provides for omission of Paragraph 3 of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution thereby withdrawing the protection from disqualification on the ground of defection in case of split in the political party. Accordingly, the words and figures, “Paragraph 3, or, as the case may be,” have been omitted from clause (b) in Paragraph 1. In Paragraph 2, sub-paragraph (1), the words and figures “Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5”, have been substituted by “Paragraphs 4 and 5”.〔 〕 ==Proposal and enactment== The Bill of ''The Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003'' was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 5 May 2003, as the ''Constitution (Ninety-seventh Amendment) Bill, 2003'' (Bill No. 32 of 2003). It was introduced by Arun Jaitley, then Minister of Law and Justice. The Bill sought to amend articles 75 and 164 and to insert a new article 361B in the Constitution.〔 The full text of the Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the bill is given below: The Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Home Affairs. The Committee presented its Report to the Rajya Sabha and laid it on the table of the Lok Sabha on 5 December 2003. Thereafter, the Bill was considered by the Lok Sabha on 16 December 2003. During consideration of the Bill, certain amendments including those recommended by the Committee on Home Affairs, were moved by Arun Jaitley and adopted by the House.〔 ;Article 75 Accepting the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs, the proposed new clause (1A) in article 75 was substituted to replace the words “ten per cent of the total number of members of both House of Parliament” by the words “fifteen per cent of the total members of the House of the People” in connection with the ceiling on the number of Ministers in the Council of Ministers at the Centre with a view to ensure uniformity of law in the country. Accepting the recommendation of the Standing Committee, the proposed new clause (1B) in article 75 was also substituted. Clause (1B), as introduced in the Lok Sabha, provided as follows: :"A member of either House of Parliament belonging to any political party who is disqualified for being member of that House under Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a Minister under clause (1) for duration of the period commencing from the date of his disqualification till the date on which the term of his office as such member would expire or till the date on which he contests an election to any House of Parliament or Legislature of a State, whichever is earlier." The aforesaid clause was substituted so as to provide for the words “or where he contests any election to either House of Parliament before the expiry of such period, till the date on which he is declared elected, whichever is earlier” in place of the words “or till the date on which he contests an election to any House of Parliament or Legislature of a State, whichever is earlier”. This was done with a view to provide that the disqualification on ground of defection as specified under Paragraph 2 of Tenth Schedule shall be removed only when the member wins an election to any House of Parliament.〔 ;Article 164 As recommended by the Standing Committee on Home Affairs, the proposed new clause (1A) in article 164 in connection with the ceiling on the number of Ministers in the Council of Ministers in a State was substituted to replace the words, “ten per cent of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that State or, in case of a State having a Legislative Council, the total number of both Houses of the Legislature of that State” by the words “fifteen per cent of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that State” with a view to ensure uniformity of law in the country. In the proviso to the said clause, for the figure “seven”, “twelve” was substituted now providing that the number of Ministers including the Chief Minister in a State shall not be less than twelve. This was done keeping in mind the equal workload, gamut of functions, etc. in all the States irrespective of their size. The Government also proposed and moved a motion for insertion of a new proviso to the proposed new clause (1A) in article 164. Accordingly, a new proviso was inserted to clause (1A), which read as follows: :"Provided further that where the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in any State at the commencement of the Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003 exceeds the said fifteen per cent or the number specified in the first proviso, as the case may be, then the total number of Ministers in that State shall be brought in conformity with the provisions of this clause within six months from such date as the President may by public notification appoint." Accepting the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs, the proposed new clause (1B) in article 164 was also substituted. Clause (1B), as introduced in the Lok Sabha, provided as follows: :"A member of the Legislative Assembly of a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council belonging to any political party who is disqualified for being a member of that House under Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a Minister under clause (1) for duration of the period commencing from the date of his disqualification till the date on which the term of his office as such member would expire or till the date on which he contests an election to any House of Parliament or Legislature of a State, whichever is earlier." The aforesaid clause was substituted to replace the words “or where he contests any election to the Legislative Assembly of a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council, as the case may be, before the expiry of such period, till the date on which he is declared elected, whichever is earlier” by the words “or till the date on which he contests an election to any House of Parliament or Legislature of a State, whichever is earlier”. This was done with a view to provide that the disqualification on ground of defection as specified under Paragraph 2 of Tenth Schedule is removed only when he/she wins an election to the Legislature of a State.〔 ;Article 361B Accepting the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs, the proposed new article 361B was also substituted. The said article, as introduced in the Lok Sabha, read as follows: "361B. A member of a House belonging to any political party who is disqualified for being a member of the House under Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule shall also be disqualified to hold any remunerative political post for duration of the period commencing from the date of his disqualification till the date on which the term of his office as such member would expire or till the date on which he contests an election to a House, whichever is earlier." The aforesaid article was substituted so as to replace the words “to a House, whichever is earlier” by the words “to a House and is declared elected, whichever is earlier”. This was done with a view to provide that the disqualification on ground of defection as given under Paragraph 2 of Tenth Schedule is removed only when he/she wins an election to any House of Parliament or Legislature of a State. Further, in the Explanation to article 361B, the expression “remunerative political post” was added which reads as follows: :"(b) The expression “remunerative political post” means any office: ::(i) under the Government of India or the Government of a State where the salary or remuneration for such office is paid out of the public revenue of the Government of India or the Government of the State, as the case may be; or ::(ii) under a body, whether incorporated or not, which is wholly or partially owned by the Government of India or the Government of a State and the salary or remuneration for such office is paid by such body. :except where such salary or remuneration paid is compensatory in nature."〔 ;Enactment The Bill, as amended, was passed by Lok Sabha on 16 December 2003 with a formal amendment changing the short title from “Ninety-seventh” to “Ninety-first”. The Bill, as passed by the Lok Sabha, was considered and passed by the Rajya Sabha on 18 December 2003. The Bill received assent from then President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on 1 January 2004, and came into force on the same date. It was notified in ''The Gazette of India'' on 2 January 2004.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ninety-first Amendment of the Constitution of India」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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