PM, CM Removal Bills Sent to Committee After Opposition’s ‘Attack on Constitution’ Claim: What’s Next?

The new laws on the removal of PM, CMs, and ministers at the Centre and states/UTs, proposed by the BJP led NDA government and which are based only on allegations, and do not require conviction by the court, were termed as squarely destructive by the Opposition.

There was considerable disruption in Lok Sabha on Wednesday with Opposition MPs tore up copies of the bills. Chief ministers of non-NDA states have also risen in opposition to the new proposed legal infrastructure, that comes at a time when the same has seen headlines across the country due to the vote theft claims by the Opposition.

The line of defence that is being waved around against the bills is a direct one, that is, firing someone on hearsay and even arresting without them being proven as such, would be flawing the Constitution.

The government, which tabled the three bills as an anti-corruption measure has now sent these to a joint parliamentary committee to take another look.

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Infringes on the principle of innocent until proven guilty’

On arrival in the Lok Sabha, shortly after union home minister Amit Shah brought up the first of the three bills, Congress MP Manish Tewari rose on his feet and said: “The Indian constitution says there should be rule of law, and the basis of that is that you are innocent until proven guilty. This hopes to change that."

Describing the proposed code as squarely destructive, the Chandigarh MP has mentioned the constitutional amendment bill which covers the PM as the reason “It makes an executive agency officer the boss of the Prime Minister.”

Tewari, a lawyer and multi-term MP, said government bills would alter the judicial jurisprudence to article 21, i.e., it is the fundamental right to life and personal liberty.

What bills propose: On ‘30 days’ and ‘five years’

The bills are: The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, which deals with the PM and states and that includes Delhi NCT; The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, and The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill.

These bills suggest that, a sitting minister, chief minister or even the prime minister lose their post when they are arrested or detained continuously within 30 days and the crime has a jail term of not less than five years.

Makes probe agencies jury as well as executioner

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, too, a lawyer, has opposed the move to bring the bills.

According to him, the bills contravene the principle of separation of powers that is, the Parliament, executive (or government), and the Judiciary.

“This gives executive agencies a free run to become judge and executioner based on flimsy allegations and suspicions,” the Hyderabad MP said, riding on its earlier claims that the central government has been using CBI and ED, say, to go after and in jail leaders of the Opposition.

Owaisi accused central government under the leadership of Narendra Modi of being hell-bent on building a police state.

Will PM ever be insured and who receives powers?

But are the numbers in favor of the government, and which of the three bills among them are going to make a future as laws these are the questions that are being debated ever since the news about the bills broke during Tuesday night.

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The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which is applicable to the PM, states and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, proposed to import amendments to the Constitution. This would require two-third majority and therefore it is unlikely to pass on the basis that the BJP-led ruling alliance has not achieved that majority.

That brings down to the other two bills, which deal with union territories, such as J&K and Ladakh as is constituted in 2019. All these would require only simple majority, and can be forced through unless the government refers them to a parliamentary committee to be reviewed.

Due to this arithmetic the Opposition and other analysts have alleged that such laws on J&K and other UTs will enable the Opposition and other analysts have alleged that such laws on J&K and other UTs will enable the Centre to unseat sitting leaders before they have even been convicted of an offence.

Larger than super-Emergency’

According to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee this is to enable consolidation of a one man- one party- one government system.

"I condemn it as a step towards something that is more than a super-Emergency, a step to end the democratic era of India forever. This draconian step comes as a death knell for democracy and federalism in India," Banerjee, who leads the Trinamool Congress, wrote on the social media platform X.

On its part, the central government in the bills has stated that an individual found against allegations of serious criminal offence “may thwart or hinder the canons of constitutional morality and principles of good governance”.

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