The Lok Sabha on Wednesday witnessed massive uproar as Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three significant bills aimed at disqualifying Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers, and ministers who remain in jail for 30 consecutive days on serious criminal charges.
As soon as Shah tabled the bills, opposition MPs tore copies of the documents and threw them towards the treasury benches while raising slogans. The House was adjourned multiple times amid the chaos. Shah clarified that the government was not rushing the process and announced that the bills would be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) of 31 members for wider consultation before the next Parliament session.
The three bills introduced
- Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025
- Seeks amendments to Articles 75, 164, and 239AA to provide a legal framework for removal of the PM, CMs, and ministers if they remain in custody for 30 consecutive days in cases involving offences punishable with five years or more.
- If the PM is jailed, he/she must resign by the 31st day, failing which the post will automatically be vacated.
- The same rule applies to Union Ministers, CMs, and State Ministers.
- Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025
- Proposes amendment to Section 45 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, to ensure that UT Chief Ministers or Ministers are removed if imprisoned for 30 days on serious charges.
- Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025
- Amends Section 54 of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 to extend similar provisions to the J&K CM and Council of Ministers.
Why it matters
Currently, the Constitution does not explicitly provide for automatic removal of ministers jailed on serious charges. The government argues that this gap has allowed some leaders, including Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Tamil Nadu Minister V. Senthil Balaji, to continue holding office despite being in custody.
Opposition’s stance
Leaders like Congress’ KC Venugopal and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi strongly opposed the bills, calling them unconstitutional and against the spirit of federalism.
Due to persistent protests, the Lok Sabha was adjourned first till 3 PM, and later till 5 PM.
