Remember how the then Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal spent around 5 months in jail last year in the CBI corruption case? Now, in a move that is seeing strong protests by the Opposition, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday (August 20) introduced 3 bills that aim at removing elected ministers, if detained in jail for 30 days.
Interestingly, former Delhi CM Kejriwal and Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji had not resigned from their posts ever after their arrests on different charges.
Introduction of these bills in the Lok Sabha witnessed heated exchanges between HM Shah and Congress leader KC Venugopal. This set of Constitutional Amendment Bills seek the removal of elected representatives, including the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers, if arrested or detained on serious criminal charges.
Amid strong protests from the Opposition benches, the draft laws were eventually referred to a Joint Committee of Parliament. The panel has been tasked with submitting its report by the end of the first week of the upcoming Winter Session, likely to begin in the third week of November.
Amit Shah bills: What is the uproar about?
The bills tabled by the home minister including the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeks removal of PM or CMs facing corruption or serious offence charges if they remain in detention for 30 consecutive days. Shah also tabled the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The latter proposes amending section 54 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, to provide for the removal of a chief minister or minister in case of arrest or detention on serious criminal charges.
Opposing the move, Congress MP Venugopal accused the Modi government of cloaking political motives under the guise of morality and reminded the Treasury benches that Shah himself had once faced arrest as Gujarat Home Minister.
In a sharp response to him, Shah retorted, “Now listen to me, I want to clear the record. False charges were levelled against me. I had resigned before being arrested out of a moral responsibility. And I didn’t take up any post until I was acquitted by the courts.”
Several Opposition MPs, including Congress’s Manish Tewari and Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav, also voiced sharp objections.
What do the 3 bill propose?
The proposed legislation mandates that the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, or Ministers in states and Union Territories who remain in custody for 30 consecutive days in connection with offences carrying a minimum sentence of five years will be removed from office on the 31st day.
The authority to act will rest with the President, Governor, or Lieutenant-Governor, depending on the post involved. However, the Bills also allow for reappointment once the concerned individual is released from custody.
In his statement of objects and reasons, Shah argued that public representatives must embody “constitutional morality” and maintain conduct “beyond any ray of suspicion.” Allowing Ministers under serious criminal charges to continue in office, he said, could erode good governance and weaken public trust in democratic institutions.
Will these bills elevate declining moral standards?
After the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day, Home Minister Shah took to X to explain that the purpose of these bills is to elevate the declining moral standards and maintaining integrity in politics. These bills were have been introduced on account of the Modi government’s commitment to restoring moral standards in politics, he said.
On account of the Modi government’s commitment to restoring moral standards in politics and in view of the public resentment towards the menace, today with the Lok Sabha speaker’s permission, I tabled constitutional amendment bills that will prevent people from holding important…
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 20, 2025
While the Congress’s work culture and policy have been to place the prime minister above the law through constitutional amendments, the BJP’s policy is to bring our own prime minister, ministers, and chief ministers under the ambit of law, he stated, adding that the BJP and the NDA have always stood for moral values.
“Lal Krishna Advani Ji too had resigned from his post merely on the basis of allegations. On the other hand, the Congress party continues to carry forward the unethical tradition started by Smt. Indira Gandhi.”
This bill would be referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Parliament for detailed discussion.