Mamata Banerjee calls 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill a 'threat to Indian democracy'
Mamata Banerjee
slammed the
130th Constitutional Amendment Bill
, terming the proposed legislation, which seeks to remove any central or state minister who faces allegations of corruption or serious offences and has been detained for at least 30 days, a step towards 'more than a super-Emergency' and 'nothing short of a Hitlerian assault on the very soul of Indian democracy'.
Union home minister Amit Shah introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday amid vociferous opposition protest.
'I condemn it as a step towards something that is more than a super-Emergency, a step to end the democratic era of India forever. This draconian step comes as a death knell for democracy and federalism in India… To suppress the voting rights of the Indian citizens in the name of special intensive revision (of electoral rolls in Bihar), this is another super-draconian step by the Centre now,' Banerjee said in a post on X.
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She said the intent of the bill is to consolidate a system of 'one man-one-party-one government'.
'What we are witnessing is unprecedented – the Bill is nothing short of a Hitlerian assault on the very soul of
Indian democracy
,' Banerjee said on X. 'The bill strikes at the basic structure of the Constitution – federalism, separation of powers, and judicial review – principles that even Parliament cannot override. If allowed to pass, it will be a death warrant for constitutional governance in India. We must resist this dangerous overreach.'
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The All India
Trinamool Congress
(AITC) leader further said, 'The bill seeks to empower the Union to intrude upon the mandate of the people, handing sweeping powers to unelected authorities (ED, CBI - whom the Supreme Court has described as 'caged parrots') to interfere in the functioning of elected state governments. It is a step to empower the Prime Minister and the Union home minister in a sinister manner at the expense of the basic principles of our Constitution.'
Banerjee alleged that the bill 'seeks to strip the judiciary of its constitutional role- to take away the power of courts to adjudicate on matters that lie at the very heart of justice and federal balance', and that by 'vesting such powers in partisan hands, the bill mutilates democracy'.
Meanwhile, the AITC leader in the Lok Sabha Abhishek Banerjee said, 'We were very vocal about this bill in the House today. We were the only opposition party which went to the well to protest. The home minister had to bring in marshals and introduce the bill… The Union home minister had to sit in the fourth row of the Lok Sabha being guarded by 12-15 marshals. This speaks volumes of the BJP's '56-inch' or 'Vishwaguru' narrative.'
'They wanted to change the Constitution after coming to power,' he said, adding that the AITC will take up the matter of 'assault on the women MPs by BJP MPs in Parliament' with the Lok Sabha speaker.
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