Disqualify MPs of parties going against coalition: Commission

New Delhi, Feb 12 (UNI) In a move aimed at strengthening coalition politics which has become the order of the day, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission has recommended disqualification of elected representatives of coalition parties which go against the common minimum programme (CMP).

''The Constitution should be amended to ensure that if one or more parties in a colition with a common programme mandated by the electorate either explicitly before the elections or implicitly while forming the government, realign midstream with one or more parties outside the coalition, then Members of that party or parties shall have to seek a fresh mandate from the electorate,'' the commission said.

In a 263-page report, submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, the M Veerappa Moily headed commission said the ethics of coalition government was ''seriously strained'' when the coalition partners changed partnerships mid-way and new coalitions were formed, primarily driven by opportunism and craving for power in utter disregard of the CMP agreed to for the realisation of the goal of socio-economic development.

Going against the CMP would amount to abuse of the power given by the people, it said.

To maintain the will of the people, it was necessary to lay down an ethical framework to ensure that such exercises in opportunism, through redrawing of coalitions between elections, did not take place, the report said.

Acknowledging that the phenomenon of coalitio9n politics had emerged as a strong presence in the Indian polity in recent years, it said the very diversity and complexity of the Indian electorate and vibrant democracy had made this a familiar aspect of the country's electoral process.

UNI