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Removal of 'tainted' PM, CMs & ministers: Opposition, Centre lock horns over 3 contentious bills; here are the key provisions

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NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday tabled three bills in the Lok Sabha amid heavy opposition protests and sloganeering.

The bills aim for the removal of Prime Minister, Union minister, chief minister or state/UT minister of they are arrested or kept in custody for serious criminal charges for 30 consecutive days. The three Bills are:

  • Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025
  • Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025
  • Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025

  • If a lawmaker is in custody for 30 straight days for crimes punishable with five years or more in jail, they will automatically lose their post on the 31st day.

    Also read: Monsoon session: Oppn MPs tear copies of three key bills; throw bits of paper at Amit Shah

    Amit Shah also moved a motion in the Lok Sabha to refer these three bills to a joint parliamentary committee for further discussion.

    Notably, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji never resigned after their arrests on different charges.

    What the bills say -

    Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025

    The Constitution does not have rules to remove a Prime Minister or minister under serious criminal charges. This bill proposes amending Articles 75, 164, and 239AA so that ministers at the Union, state, and Delhi government levels can be removed if arrested for serious crimes.

    Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025

    Currently, the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 does not allow removing a chief minister or minister if they are arrested for serious crimes. This bill proposes amending Section 45 to give a legal framework for their removal.

    Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025

    The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 currently lacks a provision to remove the chief minister or ministers in such cases. This bill proposes amending Section 54 to provide a legal way to remove them if they are in custody for serious criminal charges.

    Oppn's reaction

    Meanwhile, AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi termed the Bills "last nail in the coffin", saying: "I stand to oppose the introduction of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2025, the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2025, and the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025. This violates the principle of separation of powers and undermines the right of the people to elect a government. It gives executive agencies a free hand to act as judge and executioner based on flimsy allegations and suspicions."

    "This government is hell-bent on creating a Police State. This will be the final nail in the coffin of elected governments. The Indian Constitution is being amended to turn this country into a police state. The Chief Minister and the Ministers will not be accountable to the people," Owaisi added.

    Opposing the introduced Bills, Congress MP Manish Tewari said, "I rise to oppose the introduction of these three Bills...This Bill is squarely destructive of the basic structure of the Constitution...This Bill opens the door for political misuse by instrumentalities of the State whose arbitrary conduct has been repeatedly frowned upon by the Supreme Court. It throws all existing Constitutional safeguards to the winds..."

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