Lok Sabha Erupts As Amit Shah Introduces Bills To Remove Arrested Ministers
The proposed legislation includes the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill. As Shah presented these measures, opposition MPs erupted in protest, tearing copies of the bills and hurling them toward the Home Minister while chanting "bill waapis lo" (withdraw the bill) slogans.
Opposition parties have condemned the legislation as "draconian," arguing it would enable the government to destabilize opposition-ruled states through arbitrary arrests of their leaders. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi likened the bills to creating a "police state" and compared them to Hitler's Gestapo, claiming they would give executive agencies unchecked power to act as "judge and executioner."
The confrontation intensified when Congress MP KC Venugopal challenged Shah's moral authority by referencing his own arrest in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case during his tenure as Gujarat Home Minister. Shah defended himself, stating he had resigned on moral grounds before his arrest and maintained no constitutional posts until a CBI court cleared him of all charges in 2014.
Congress MP Manish Tewari criticized the bills as fundamentally destructive to the Constitution's basic structure, warning they would enable political misuse by state agencies. This comes amid recent Supreme Court concerns about central agencies, particularly the Enforcement Directorate, "crossing all limits" and being used for "political battles."
Under the proposed legislation, removed officials could be reappointed once released from custody. The government's initiative follows past controversies involving leaders like former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, who continued holding office while in jail.
Currently, no provision exists to remove sitting ministers accused of serious crimes, making this legislation a significant constitutional change that has divided Parliament along party lines.
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