“Can PM or CM Run Govt From Jail?” : Shah Questions Rahul
The Home Minister Contrasts Rahul Gandhi's Opposition to the New Legislation With His 2013 Stance on an Ordinance to Protect Convicted Lawmakers.
- Home Minister Amit Shah questioned Rahul Gandhi’s moral standards.
- Shah cited Gandhi’s 2013 act of tearing up an ordinance.
- The ordinance was meant to protect jailed lawmakers.
- Shah argued that a country cannot be run from jail.
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 25th Aug: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has questioned the moral stance of Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, asking if his principles have changed after losing three consecutive elections. In an exclusive interview with ANI, Shah drew a sharp contrast between Gandhi’s current opposition to a bill on the removal of jailed ministers and his 2013 act of tearing up an ordinance brought by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The 2013 ordinance was intended to give a three-month reprieve to convicted lawmakers to retain their seats, a move widely seen as an attempt to protect RJD’s Lalu Prasad Yadav following his conviction in the fodder scam. “Why did Rahul Ji tear the ordinance that Manmohan Singh brought to protect Lalu Ji? If there was morality that day, then what happened now? Just because you have lost three consecutive elections?” Shah said, adding that “morality’s standards should be steady like the Sun and the Moon.”
Speaking on the new Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, which proposes the removal of a Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or Minister jailed for 30 days on serious charges, Shah questioned whether it is “fair” for someone in such a constitutional post to run a government from jail. “Can a Chief Minister, a Prime Minister, or a minister run their government from the jail? Is it appropriate for the democracy of the country?” he asked.
The Home Minister also drew on his own experience, citing his resignation from his post the day after the CBI summoned him in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. He highlighted that he did not hold any constitutional post until the case was fully quashed, stating, “What lessons on morality is the opposition teaching me?”
Shah further alleged that the INDIA bloc is against the bill because they intend to “run the government from jail.” Citing the cases of Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia not resigning from their posts despite being jailed, he added, “We disagree with them in diminishing political or social morality to such a level.” Shah expressed confidence that the bill would be passed, stating that many people in the opposition would support the moral ground.
