Oppn should tell people why they’re against 130th Constitution Amendment Bill: Shah
Union home minister Amit Shah in an interview with news agency ANI said that Dhankar resigned due to health issues and dismissed the opposition’s claims that he was under “house arrest”
Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025 which seeks to remove the Prime Minister, chief ministers or ministers facing corruption or serious offence charges if they remain in detention for 30 consecutive days is not driven by political vendetta and the opposition should tell the people why they are against an attempt to ensure morality in public life.
“I want to ask the opposition should any PM, CM or any minister be in jail and run the government from there… is it befitting democracy?” he said in an interview to news agency ANI.
In a veiled jibe at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Shah said a “new trend has emerged” where leaders do not step down on moral ground pending inquiry but choose to run governments from jail.
The home minister also clarified that former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar stepped down from his position owing to health concerns and there is no merit in any speculation about his resignation.
“He held a constitutional position and did good work during his tenure according to the Constitution. He has resigned because of health concerns and no one should try to stretch the issue to find something,” Shah said in the interview.
Also Read: SC judge who held Salwa Judum to be illegal in 2011 is Opposition’s VP pick
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: SC judge who held Salwa Judum to be illegal in 2011 is Opposition’s VP pick
{{/usCountry}}While the opposition has coalesced to oppose the Bill that has been sent to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) for scrutiny, Shah lashed out at the opposition for disrupting Parliament while the bill was being introduced.
{{/usCountry}}While the opposition has coalesced to oppose the Bill that has been sent to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) for scrutiny, Shah lashed out at the opposition for disrupting Parliament while the bill was being introduced.
{{/usCountry}}He said the premise of the bill is clear that only when the Prime Minister, chief minister, union ministers or state ministers who are accused of a serious crime are arrested for 30 days without bail, then they will automatically be removed from their position.
{{/usCountry}}He said the premise of the bill is clear that only when the Prime Minister, chief minister, union ministers or state ministers who are accused of a serious crime are arrested for 30 days without bail, then they will automatically be removed from their position.
{{/usCountry}}“If an elected government in Parliament brings any constitutional amendment or a bill, what can be the opposition to that… I have made it clear that this bill will be sent to a JPC for further examination. Opposition leaders could’ve given their opinion on it and when there is going to be voting on it… because it is a constitutional amendment, we need 2/3rd majority in both houses. Irrespective of whether we have that majority or not, they can share their opinion and vote,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“If an elected government in Parliament brings any constitutional amendment or a bill, what can be the opposition to that… I have made it clear that this bill will be sent to a JPC for further examination. Opposition leaders could’ve given their opinion on it and when there is going to be voting on it… because it is a constitutional amendment, we need 2/3rd majority in both houses. Irrespective of whether we have that majority or not, they can share their opinion and vote,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Shah said that disrupting Parliament and disregarding procedure does not behove a democracy.
“We have also opposed issues but to not allow a bill to be presented… this mentality is not democratic, and the opposition is answerable to the people of this country,” he said.
To offset the opposition’s claims that the bill could be used as an instrument of political vendetta, Shah said there are more National Democratic Alliance (NDA) chief ministers in the country, and the provisions of the bill apply to all equally.
“If there is an allegation against anyone, they can go to court and file a public interest litigation (PIL). Courts monitor cases of serious allegations… There is a provision for bail within 30 days. If it is a fake case, then the courts of this country will not turn a blind eye. They have the right to give bail, but if they do not give bail then you have to leave the post”, Shah said.
Shah said India follows a multi-party parliamentary democratic system and if a leader has the mandate of the people, but still goes to jail for any reason and they get bail, then they can still retain their mandate.
“The provision to send someone to jail is not made by the NDA government. This is what has been going on for years. There is also a definition of serious crimes…anything that invokes a jail term of more than five years. Even today, the people’s representation act says any elected representative who is sentenced to a punishment of more than two years will be relieved of his position”, he said.
The minister also clarified that former Delhi minister and AAP leader, Satyendar Jain has not been given bail in four cases he was in jail for.
“He did not get bail for four years. The case is still going on. The closure report was not filed in the first information report (FIR), in which he was in jail for four years. The closure report was filed in the 2022 case. In the four cases in which he went to jail and for a long time, CBI has charge sheeted him in all four cases and he is facing trial. Satyendar Jain ji has been chargesheeted in all the cases in which he had to stay in jail for a long time and he is facing trial,” he said.
Shah also criticised the Congress party and its leader Rahul Gandhi.
“Today, the Congress is opposing the Bill. When UPA was in power, Manmohan Singh was its PM and Lalu Prasad Yadav was a minister. Lalu Prasad was convicted and the Manmohan Singh government came up with an ordinance. Rahul Gandhi had publicly torn it in a press conference calling it complete nonsense, he had made fun of the ordinance and the decision taken by the cabinet of the country and the PM, the decision taken by the PM of his own party, on moral grounds and Manmohan Singh had become a sorry figure in front of the whole world. Today, the same Rahul Gandhi is hugging Lalu Prasad for forming the government in Bihar. Is this not double standard?”, he said.
He said over the years several leaders such as LK Advani, BS Yediyurappa, Eshwarappa, George Fernandes, and more recently Hemant Soren resigned on moral grounds.
Citing his own example he said, he resigned the day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued summons to him. Shah also rebuffed the opposition’s charge that the legal procedures are delayed, and in case of arrests, the leader would face hardships to secure bail.
“I resigned the very next day and the case went on and the judgement came that this is political vendetta, and I was innocent… I was given bail, but I did not take oath again till I was completely exonerated and the cases quashed. What morality lessons will the opposition teach me,” he said.
The Union minister defended handing over Parliament security to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and said the issue is under the purview of the Speaker. He said a decision to have a trained force take over security was taken after the 2023 breach where two individuals tried to release coloured smoke in the Lok Sabha chambers.
He also spoke on the upcoming VP election where he stood by his allegation against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate Justice Sudarshan Reddy and the 2011 judgement outlawing the Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh.
“Schools were destroyed due to Naxals, the CRPF and security forces were deployed there. They were ousted within the night with the help of the order. Security forces were attacked in many places. More than Sudershan Reddy, Rahul Gandhi must answer on this as this is the reason he (Reddy) has been picked - the left-wing ideology. Due to this judgment, the Naxals have been protected,” he said.
Former Supreme Court judge Reddy delivered the landmark 2011 judgement outlawing the Salwa Judum militia in Chhattisgarh.
A bench of justices Reddy and SS Nijjar disbanded Salwa Judum, calling arming civilians “unethical and dangerous” and violative of the Constitution’s Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 21 (right to life). The Salwa Judum, which was accused of human rights abuses, was a state-sponsored militia raised in 2005 to counter Maoist insurgency. It comprised largely tribal youth armed with basic training and firearms.
Shah said the NDA’s pick CP Radhakrishnan has not been nominated with an eye on Tamil Nadu polls.
“We have earlier also contested elections with our partners (in TN). No matter where we pick a person from, such issues will be raised. It was very logical that the vice president would come from the South because the President was from the east and the Prime Minister was from the north,” he said.
