Government tables three bills to remove Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and Ministers if detained without bail for 30 days on serious charges.
Lok Sabha witnesses uproar as TMC MPs tear bills; Amit Shah clashes with K.C. Venugopal while Opposition calls the move unconstitutional and anti-federal.
Bills referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee of 31 members, mandated to submit its report by the Winter Session.
Opposition and ruling party MPs traded barbs in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday as the government introduced three bills that would allow the removal of elected executives who are arrested on serious criminal charges and held without bail for more than 30 days. The Centre said the measures aim to restore political morality; the Opposition called them “unconstitutional and anti-federal”.
The House, meeting at 2.00 p.m., referred the bills to a Joint Committee of Parliament by voice vote.
Under the resolution, the Joint Committee will comprise 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha and has been asked to submit its report by the Winter Session, usually convened in the third week of November.
The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Constitution (One Hundred And Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025; and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025 propose that any Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Union Minister, or Minister of a State or Union Territory who is arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days without bail, on charges carrying a potential sentence of five years or more, shall be removed from office on the 31st day. If the office-holder does not resign, the President may remove a Prime Minister and a Governor may remove a Chief Minister.
The introduction of the bills triggered uproar. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs tore copies of the draft near Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s seat, prompting a brief jostle as BJP members, including Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Ravneet Singh Bittu, moved to shield him. The TMC accused Ministers of “pushing and shoving” women MPs.
A sharp exchange followed between Mr. Shah and Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, who asked whether the Home Minister had upheld “morality” when he was arrested in 2010 while serving as Gujarat’s Home Minister. Mr. Shah replied that “fake allegations were levelled” against him, that he resigned, and that he “did not accept any constitutional post until [he] was cleared of all charges”. “We cannot be so shameless that we continue to occupy constitutional positions while facing serious charges,” he said.
Opposition leaders framed the proposals as an attack on federalism and due process. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the bills would take India back to “medieval times when the King could remove anybody at will”, arguing they could enable the government to use the Enforcement Directorate to sideline elected leaders “within 30 days”.
AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi warned the Constitution was being amended “to turn this country into a police state”. Congress MP Manish Tewari said the plan “is against the jurisprudence of criminal justice and distorts Parliamentary democracy”, adding that it “opens the door for political misuse and throws all constitutional safeguards to the winds”. RSP MP N.K. Premchandran accused the government of “undue haste”, saying the bills were not introduced as per procedure and “have not even been circulated to the members”.
Additional reactions echoed those concerns. In a comment, Mahua Moitra said, “Opposition predictions come true — Constitution being changed by BJP with only 240 MPs. New bill bypasses both federal structure and judiciary — Union govt can use ED CBI to arrest elected opposition CM on fake charges and sack them WITHOUT proven guilty by a court.”
CPI(M) leader M.A. Baby said, “Modi Govt’s 3 bills to oust PM, CMs, Ministers after 30 days in custody expose its neo-fascist characteristics. This direct assault on our democracy will be opposed by CPIM tooth and nail. We urge all democratic forces to unite against this draconian move. These bills, cloaked as tackling crime in high office, reveal their true intent given the RSS-controlled Modi govt’s history of undermining elected state govts. With SIR, they mark a blatant move to subvert our democracy. All democratic forces must resist!”
Mr. Venugopal reiterated his challenge on “morality”, asking whether Mr. Shah considered resigning at the time of his arrest; the Home Minister maintained that he had abided by ethics and stepped down until cleared.
With the Joint Committee now seized of the matter, the contentious proposals will return to Parliament with its recommendations by the Winter Session.
