Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the move was an anti-corruption measure. He introduced the bills in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, but the Opposition created a massive uproar.
Three contentious bills have been referred to a joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) by the BJP-led NDA government. According to these statutes, states and union territories' prime ministers, chief ministers, and ministers may be dismissed if they are detained for longer than 30 days on accusations that entail a minimum five-year prison sentence.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the move was an anti-corruption measure. He introduced the bills in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, but the Opposition created a massive uproar.
The Opposition strongly objected to these bills, saying they are unconstitutional. Their main concern is that the removal would be based only on allegations, not proven guilt.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said the amendment would "destabilise governments." Congress MP Manish Tewari argued, "This is against the jurisprudence of criminal justice and distorts Parliamentary democracy. The bill opens the door for political misuse and throws all constitutional safeguards to the winds."
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Opposition leaders said the bills could be misused to target elected governments by simply arresting leaders on corruption allegations.
Amit Shah moved a resolution to send the bills to a JPC consisting of 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. Both government and Opposition parties will be part of the panel.
The committee has been asked to submit its report by the end of the first week of the next Parliament session, likely in November. The panel can call experts, associations, and other stakeholders to give their views.
The Opposition has linked this move to recent events where sitting Chief Ministers were jailed. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren both spent weeks in jail on corruption allegations. They claimed that central agencies like the CBI and ED were misused to weaken state governments.
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The uproar in Parliament reflected fears that the bills could set a dangerous precedent. By allowing the removal of top leaders without a conviction, critics say the government is changing the very foundation of the Constitution.
This is not the first big issue sent to a JPC. The government had earlier referred the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal to a similar committee. Like that, the PM and CM removal bills will also be debated and reviewed before any decision is taken.
For now, the matter has been pushed forward. The real battle will resume when the JPC submits its report later this year.
