Opposition tears bills to remove arrested ministers, throws it at Amit Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday introduced three contentious bills in the Lok Sabha under which the Prime Minister and chief ministers could be removed if they have been arrested for 30 consecutive days amid massive uproar and sloganeering.

As the three bills were introduced – the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill – the opposition was up on its feet and tore copies of the legislation.

The opposition has claiming that it would be used by the government to destabilise opposition-ruled states through arbitrary arrests of ministers and chief ministers

As Shah was proposing that the bills be sent to a joint committee for examination, Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee and other opposition leaders tore copies of the bills and threw them at the Home Minister.

WHAT ARE THE CONTENTIOUS BILLS?

According to the three big-ticket anti-corruption draft laws, any Prime Minister, Chief Minister or Minister who is arrested and held in custody for 30 straight days on charges carrying a punishment of five years or more will automatically be removed from office on the 31st day.

The government’s move comes against the backdrop of past controversies, when leaders such as former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji continued to hold office despite being in jail.

“A minister, who for any period of 30 consecutive days during holding the office as such, is arrested and detained in custody, on allegation of committing an offence punishable with imprisonment of five years or more, shall be removed from his office by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister by the thirty-first day after being taken in such custody,” one of the bills say.

OPPOSITION CRIES FOUL

Soon after the bills were listed for business in Lok Sabha, the Congress launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government and said that the ruling party wishes to bring such a law to remove opposition chief ministers after failing to defeat them electorally.

“What a vicious circle! No guidelines for arrest followed! Arrests of opposition leaders rampant and disproportionate,” senior advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi posted on X.

“The best way to destabilise the opposition is to unleash biased central agencies to arrest opposition CMs and, despite being unable to defeat them electorally, remove them by arbitrary arrests!! And no ruling party incumbent CM ever touched!!,” he added.

Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee also joined in and accused the Centre of attempting to crush democracy and manipulate the people’s mandate by toppling state governments.

“Having failed in its attempt to misuse the EC to implement SIR, the government has now activated another “E” — ED – to bring in laws that target opposition leaders, crush democracy and manipulate the people’s mandate by toppling State Govts,” he posted on X.