Despite vehemently protests by Opposition against the proposed laws regarding removal of elected officials including chief ministers and the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the country cannot be governed from jail. He also accused the Opposition of “political doublespeak” for opposing the legislation.
Making these assertions, he stressed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had insisted on including the office of the Prime Minister in the ambit of the bill. “This is not like Indira Gandhi’s 39th Amendment, which expanded judicial immunity for top offices. PM Modi has made sure the law covers him as well,” he said. Shah underlined these observations in an interview while defending the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, which seeks the automatic removal of top elected officials held in custody for 30 consecutive days on serious criminal charges.
Shah targeted Opposition criticism of the bill, saying: “Can the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister run the country or a state from jail? They can form the Government from jail. The jail will become the CM House or the PM House. My party and I completely reject the idea that the country cannot be governed without the person who is sitting there.”
The proposed amendment mandates that a Prime Minister, Chief Minister or any minister who is arrested and remains in custody for 30 consecutive days in cases carrying a punishment of five years or more must vacate office. If the individual does not resign, they will be removed by law.
Responding to concerns that the provision could be misused through politically motivated arrests, Shah said that courts would act responsibly and that bail would be granted before the 30-day period in such cases, leaving no scope for misuse. He also clarified that legislative majorities would not be disrupted, as the Government could continue with another leader until the person is reappointed after bail.
The Bill has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further examination. Opposition parties, including the Congress, AAP, TMC and AIMIM, have strongly objected, warning that the move could be weaponised to target non-BJP governments. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi described it as a step towards a “police state.”
Shah, however, said the Government stood firm on principle: “The dignity of democracy does not allow governance from jail. People will decide if Governments can be run from jails.”
He said it does not suit our democracy that Secretary and Chief Secretary of the Government go to jail for orders from the Prime Minister, Chief Minister and Minister
Shah said it is within the constitutional ambit to express views against a Bill and vote against it, but the mentality of not allowing the House to function is not right
The Supreme Court and High Court of the country are not sitting blindly, if a fake case is filed against the Chief Minister or Prime Minister, then the court has the right to grant bail, the home minister said.
When the Constitution was made, the Constitution makers had never imagined that in future there would be such leaders who would run the government while staying in jail, he said adding “we should not let the level of our moral values fall.”
Shah said he himself had made it clear that this constitutional amendment will be referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee of the two Houses. He said a two-third majority is required for the passage of this bill and when voting takes place, all parties can give their views on it.
Shah said the provision of imprisonment was not made by our Government, it has been going on for years. He said in the 130th Constitutional Amendment, serious crime has been defined as where there is a provision of punishment of more than 5 years, then the person will have to resign.
He said even today there is a provision in the Representation of People Act of India that if any elected representative is sentenced to two years or more, he will be relieved of his position as an MP. He said this law has been in place since Independence to determine moral grounds. Shah said the membership of many people were terminated and were also revived upon acquittal.
Shah said since Independence, many leaders, ministers and chief ministers have resigned and gone to jail. But now this trend has started that even after going to jail, they did not resign. Some ministers of Tamil Nadu, and Chief Minister and ministers of Delhi did not resign.
Shah said the standard of morality is not tied to electoral victory or defeat; rather, it remains constant, like the sun and the moon, always in their place. He said all our allies are completely in agreement with this law.