Return of Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram: How the anti-defection law is misinterpreted

Parliament needs to review the Tenth Schedule and amend the anti-defection law to restore the sanctity of the legislature

In the year 1967, the MLA from Hassanpur, Haryana, Gaya Lal defected from the Congress party to the United Front. He then returned to the Congress within days and nine hours later he defected to United Front once again. This frenetic action happened within a fortnight. On his return to the Grand Old Party, state Congress leader Rao Birendra Singh addressed the press and said, “Gaya Ram is now Aaya Ram.”

Thus was coined one of Indian politics’ most infamous phrases: Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram. Loosely translated, it means Mr Come, Mr Go. Gaya Lal’s was not a one-off case