‘Who will arrest Prime Minister?': Owaisi alleges bid to create ‘police state' as govt tables PM, CMs removal bills
The three pieces of legislation – the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025 – seek to provide a legal framework for the ouster of ministers facing serious criminal charges.
According to the draft, if a Prime Minister, Chief Minister or minister is arrested and kept in custody for 30 consecutive days on charges punishable with imprisonment of at least five years, they must resign by the 31st day. Failing that, their removal will be automatic.
The government argues that leaders under arrest cannot be allowed to continue in high office, as their detention risks eroding constitutional morality, weakening governance, and diminishing public trust.
Opposition MPs alleged that the move violates constitutional safeguards and risks political misuse.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi delivered one of the fiercest interventions, declaring:
'I stand to oppose the introduction of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2025, Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025. This violates principle of separation of powers and undermines the right of the power to elect a Govt. It gives executive agencies a free run to become judge and executioner based on flimsy allegations and suspicions… This Govt is hell-bent on creating a Police State. This will be a death nail unleashed on elected Govt. India Constitution is being amended to turn this country into a Police State.'
On the specific provision for removal of top leaders, Owaisi asked pointedly:
'This bill is unconstitutional… Who will arrest the Prime Minister?… All in all, the BJP government wants to make our country a police state through these bills… We will oppose them… The BJP is forgetting that power is not eternal.'
Congress MP Manish Tewari also opposed the introduction of the bills, arguing that they struck at the heart of constitutional democracy.
'I rise to oppose the introduction of these three Bills… This Bill is squarely destructive of the basic structure of the Constitution… This Bill opens the door for political misuse by instrumentalities of the State whose arbitrary conduct has been repeatedly frowned upon by the Supreme Court. It throws all existing Constitutional safeguards to the winds…'
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called it 'draconian,' warning that it could be misused by ruling parties to dislodge elected leaders on flimsy or politically motivated cases.
'Tomorrow, you can file any case against a Chief Minister, have him/her arrested for 30 days without conviction… and he ceases to be a Chief Minister? It is absolutely anti-constitutional,' Priyanka Gandhi argued.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah maintained that the bills were intended to strengthen governance and accountability, not weaken democracy. The draft notes argue that permitting leaders facing serious criminal charges to continue in office undermines both constitutional morality and the trust reposed in them by the people.
While Shah himself refrained from a lengthy defence during introduction, the government is expected to frame the bills as necessary for upholding integrity in public life.
The bills have been referred to joint committees before being taken up for detailed debate. With the BJP enjoying a majority in the Lok Sabha, the legislation is expected to pass there, though resistance in the Rajya Sabha may prove tougher.
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Hindustan Times
10 minutes ago
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Hindustan Times
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Every problem in this country may not have a solution in the Supreme Court. Some problems must find solutions within the system,' he said. According to Mehta, the solution was in the 'political process, not judicial directions'. He argued that chief ministers could engage directly with governors, prime ministers, or even the President to resolve such impasses. 'Such issues have been arising for decades but have always been resolved through political statesmanship and maturity. Why cannot we trust other constitutional functionaries? The remedy ultimately will lie with Parliament by way of an amendment, not by judicial legislation,' Mehta submitted. At this, the bench interjected: 'When there is no outer limit, can a constitutional interpretation be left to a vacuum? Though a time limit may not be prescribed, there must be some way the process works. There cannot be a situation where not acting on a bill itself is a full stop… nothing further.' The bench also questioned whether judicial review could be completely excluded. The court observed: 'The decision may not be justiciable, but the decision-making process certainly falls within the ambit of judicial review.' Mehta, however, warned that opening the door to scrutiny would lead to 'multilevel challenges' at every stage of a governor's or president's decision under Articles 200 and 201. 'Our problem is every step before the final decision will also be challenged because they can also constitute a 'decision',' he argued. He cited judicial precedents where the court held that fixed timelines for criminal trials could not be judicially prescribed, to reinforce his submission that timelines in constitutional processes too cannot be judicially imposed. But the bench pressed further, citing petitions already filed by Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal. 'Suppose a decision is not taken for four years. What happens to the democratic set-up of the government? What happens to the will of the two-thirds majority of the legislature?' it asked. Mehta responded with an analogy: 'Take the example of a trial pending for 10 years. Can the President step in and declare that the punishment is deemed to have been undergone because the judiciary has delayed? Separation of powers means some issues are non-justiciable.' The court, however, made it clear that it was not dealing with a hypothetical concern. 'We are having petitions from at least four states,' the court underlined. The presidential reference, prompted by the court's April judgment in the Tamil Nadu case, asks whether the judiciary can impose timelines on constitutional authorities like governors and the president when the Constitution itself is silent. In that ruling, a two-judge bench also fixed a three-month deadline for the president to decide on bills referred by a governor, and one month for a governor to act on re-enacted bills. It had even invoked Article 142 to deem 10 Tamil Nadu bills as assented to, after holding that the governor's prolonged inaction was 'illegal'. Mehta criticised the notion of deemed assent. 'Deemed assent would mean your lordships substituted yourselves for the governor and declared the assent deemed to have been granted. Article 142 cannot be used to amend the Constitution,' he argued. The bench, however, maintained that courts cannot abdicate their role as custodians of the Constitution. 'Every wrong has to have a remedy. Whether the hands of the constitutional court will be tied when a constitutional functionary refuses to discharge their function without any valid reason? Whether the court will say we are powerless?' the bench asked. Arguments on the reference will continue on August 26.
