“Uphold Constitutional Morality”: Amit Shah on Jailed Ministers’ Bill
Union Home Minister Amit Shah defended new bills enabling the removal of jailed ministers, citing Arvind Kejriwal’s governance from Tihar as an unprecedented breach of “constitutional morality.”
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 22nd Aug: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday defended the government’s move to introduce three bills in Parliament to sack a Prime Minister, Union minister, chief minister, or state minister if they are jailed on serious criminal charges for more than 30 consecutive days.
Speaking at the Manorama News Conclave in Kerala, Mr Shah cited the example of former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who ran his government from Tihar jail earlier this year. “Do the people of the country want any Chief Minister to stay in jail and run the government? This is a question of morality,” Mr Shah said, adding that the Constitution’s framers never anticipated such a situation.
“If Kejriwal had resigned after his arrest, this bill would not have been necessary,” Shah remarked.
He stressed the need for “constitutional morality,” which, he said, should be upheld by both the ruling and opposition parties.
Modi Endorses The Move
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Bihar, endorsed the bills, saying they were essential to protect constitutional propriety. He criticised opposition parties, alleging that Congress and RJD governments in the past were mired in scams, unlike his “taint-free” administration of 11 years.
“So, we decided to bring in a law that provides for dismissing a corrupt Chief Minister, or even the Prime Minister, if he or she spends 30 days in jail,” PM Modi said.
Opposition Pushback
The bills have sparked sharp resistance. Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the move pushes India “back to medieval times when kings jailed their rivals.” He accused the BJP of misusing institutions like the ED, CBI, and I-T department to target opposition leaders.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge warned the Constitutional Amendment Bill would undermine parliamentary democracy and federalism. He accused the government of rushing the legislation “at the fag end of the session” to bypass debate.
“These bills will become tools to destabilise democratically elected governments in the states,” Mr Kharge said.
The bills have been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee amid uproar in both Houses.
