On August 20, 2025, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three key bills in the Parliament: the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The bills propose the removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, and Ministers if they are arrested on serious criminal charges for more than 30 days. The draft legislation drew sharp protests from the Opposition, even as the proposals were referred to a Joint Committee of Parliament for further examination.
A heated exchange took place between Congress leader K.C. Venugopal and Amit Shah. Venugopal questioned the ruling party’s claim that the bills were intended to ensure political morality, pointing out that Shah himself had been arrested in the past when serving as Gujarat’s Home Minister.
“I was framed in fabricated cases, but I resigned before I was arrested,” Shah replied. Venugopal further alleged that the move was politically motivated and aimed at threatening leaders such as Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.
Several other Opposition MPs, including Congress’s Manish Tewari and Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav, opposed the legislation. N.K. Premachandran asked the Home Minister about the urgency of introducing such a bill, while AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi argued that it would give excessive powers to unelected bureaucrats, undermining the role of legislatures.
About the Bill
Under the proposed provisions, if the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, or Ministers of States and Union Territories are arrested and detained for more than 30 days on allegations of committing an offence punishable with imprisonment of five years or more, they will be removed from office by the 31st day.
The authority for removal will rest with the President (for the Prime Minister), the Governor (for Chief Ministers), the Chief Minister (for State Ministers), and the Lieutenant-Governor (for Chief Ministers in Union Territories). Such individuals may be reappointed upon release from custody.
