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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, August 20, introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha that propose legislation to remove the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and Ministers who have been imprisoned for 30 days or more in any case. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government states that the new laws are aimed at preserving the “constitutional trust” reposed by the people in their ministers.
Opposition MPs were in an uproar over the bills, which they said would be dangerous, saying it would be the elected leaders of opposition-ruled states who would stand the risk of arbitrary arrests and ousting.
The three bills are, namely, The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025; The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025; and The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The bills state that any minister who is “arrested and detained in custody on allegation of committing an offence under any law for the time being in force, which is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or more” will have to tender their resignation or will automatically cease to hold office. The scope of the bills extends to ministers of the Union or state cabinets, as well as Union Territories, including CMs and the PM.
In a face-off, Congress MP KC Venugopal said the bills were meant to sabotage the federal structure of the country. “It threatens people like Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.” Venugopal questioned why Amit Shah did not resign on moral grounds when he was arrested while holding the office of Gujarat Home Minister.
In response, Amit Shah said the case against him was false and that he had resigned before he was arrested on moral grounds. He also said that he did not accept any constitutional posts until the court acquitted him of all charges.
Questioning the government’s “undue haste,” RSP MP NK Premachandran said the bills showed mala fide intention to destabilise the Opposition. He also pointed out that by not circulating the bills among the members of the House ahead of time, their introduction in the Lok Sabha violated the rules of procedure. The bills were made public only on the night of August 19.
Opposing the bills, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said, “This violates due process of law, separation of powers, and the right of the people to an elected government. … This government is hell-bent on turning this country into a police state.”
Congress MP Manish Tiwari said the bills turn on their head the fundamental maxim of jurisprudence that one is innocent until proven guilty. “The bills make an investigating officer the boss of the prime minister of India," he said. Further, he called them excessive, unnecessary, and unconstitutional.
It may be noted that central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate have registered cases against ministers of several opposition-ruled states in the past years. Former Delhi chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal had spent more than five months in jail in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. Former Jharkhand chief minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren, too, had similarly been arrested in a corruption case while still holding office.