As regards the 'disqualification on ground of defection' as per the Constitution of India, which of the following statements is/are correct ?

1. Disqualification on ground of defection does not apply to any nominated member of a House

2. Disqualification on ground of defection does not apply to a member of a House if she/he does not accept the merger of her/his original political party into another and opts to function as a separate group

Select the answer using the code given below :

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law) specifically applies to nominated members of a House. According to Paragraph 2(3) of the Tenth Schedule, a nominated member is disqualified from being a member if they join any political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which they take their seat. They are only permitted to join a political party within the first six months.

Statement 2 is correct: Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule provides an exception to disqualification in the case of a merger. Under Paragraph 4(1)(b), a member is not disqualified if their original political party merges with another party and they do not accept the merger, opting instead to function as a separate group. For this to be legally valid, Paragraph 4(2) requires that at least two-thirds of the members of the legislature party must have agreed to the merger.