Opposition parties, however, warned it could be misused to target rival chief ministers.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday strongly defended the new bills mandating the removal of prime ministers, chief ministers, and ministers arrested on serious criminal charges for 30 days. Speaking at the Manorama News Conclave in Kochi, Shah reasoned that such a law had become necessary to “uphold political morality” in the country.
He pointed to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s decision to continue governing while imprisoned as a precedent that “forced” this legislative move. “In the past 75 years, many Chief Ministers and Ministers have gone to jail, and all of them resigned. But for the first time in Delhi, a chief minister was running a government while in jail. Hence, the question arises—should the Constitution be amended or not?” Shah asked.
Shah’s remarks echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fiery speech in Gayaji, Bihar, where he questioned why people in powerful posts should be allowed to function from jail. “If a government employee is imprisoned for 50 hours, then he loses his job automatically, be it a driver, a clerk, or a peon. But should a Chief Minister, a Minister, or even a Prime Minister stay in the government even while being in jail?” Modi said.
The Prime Minister and the Home Minister thus put forth a unified front, framing the bill not as a partisan tool but as a safeguard for constitutional propriety and accountability.
However, the opposition has accused the BJP of weaponizing central agencies through this bill. Several leaders allege that the amendment could be misused to topple governments in opposition-ruled states. According to critics, this move gives the Centre sweeping powers to destabilize state leaderships under the guise of legality.
Congress and other parties have expressed concern, saying the bill sets a dangerous precedent by giving unprecedented power to agencies whose neutrality has often been questioned.
Amit Shah did not spare the Congress either. He reminded the audience of how Rahul Gandhi once tore an ordinance brought by the UPA government to protect convicted MPs and MLAs. Yet, Shah accused Gandhi of double standards today, for “embracing Lalu Yadav, who is out of jail only on health grounds.”
“The very ordinance Rahul had torn apart, today, he is opposing similar provisions in Parliament with indecent behaviour. Is it simply because he keeps losing elections?” Shah asked, adding that the Congress was once again shielding leaders facing convictions.
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Shah also emphasized that when the Constitution was being written, nobody could have imagined that elected leaders would refuse to resign while in jail. The new amendment, he said, was a safeguard against such “moral breakdowns” in politics.
While the BJP insists the bill is a necessary reform, the coming parliamentary debate promises to be a battleground of morality versus political opportunism, with both sides accusing the other of undermining democracy.
