Opposition digs in heels over 130th Constitution Amendment Bill

The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) (NCPSP) this week wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla saying it would join the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) tasked to study three Bills that propose the removal of Prime Minister, Chief Minister and ministers from office if they fail to get bail after a month’s arrest in serious criminal matters. Pawar’s move came as a setback to the Opposition’s unity after top Congress-led INDIA bloc leaders vowed to boycott the JPC and continued to maintain the same stance as late as this week.

Despite the NCPSP’s move, the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena UBT and Samajwadi Party didn’t budge from the stated position even after Speaker Birla wrote two letters to them seeking nominations for the JPC.

Birla finally even dialled floor leaders of INDIA bloc parties this week but to no avail. Opposition MP nominations for the JPC have not been filed and the committee’s constitution continues to be delayed.

But the Speaker may not keep the matter hanging for too long because the JPC has to submit its report by the first day of the next Parliament session.

Indications are Birla will proceed with the constitution of the JPC. NCPSP has sent a nomination. Other non-INDIA parties are also on board.

While Government strategists feel more Opposition parties could join the committee as Pawar’s party has done, the Congress is hopeful that INDIA bloc’s broader unity on the matter will hold.

At the heart of the issue are the following three Bills Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 20: the Constitution (130th) Amendment Bill 2025, the Government of UTs Amendment Bill 2025 and the J&K Reorganisation Amendment Bill 2025. The first Bill seeks to provide for removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Union or state Minister, if he/she is arrested and detained in custody for serious criminal offences beyond 30 days. Two other Bills apply these same provisions to the UTs of Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Senior Congress and TMC leaders feel issues these Bills raise are far too fundamental to be ignored.

While the Government, in defence of the Bills, cites examples of CMs (read former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal) who refused to vacate office despite being jailed for months, the larger Opposition says the laws strike at the root of principles of natural justice and basic structure of the Constitution.

Congress top guns, including Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari, argue that the Bills violate the fundamental basis of the rule of law which is — innocent until proven guilty and until the conviction has been upheld right up to the Supreme Court.

What will happen to the implied presumption of innocence until proven guilty should these three Bills go through, the Opposition leaders ask.

Their second refrain is — potential weaponisation of law enforcement and witch hunt of the Opposition should the Bills be passed.

“All kinds of vindictive FIRs are registered in this country. What happens if a certain investigating officer, perhaps on a command performance, decides to arrest a person? Would it be lawful to then imply guilt and say that you have to step down? People have been in jails for years and later closure reports are filed. There is no compensation for the loss of reputation. Look at the record of convictions of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The larger question here is — can constitutional morality be imposed by law or is it a personal ethic?” Manish Tewari asks commenting on the three Bills.

The Opposition further cites outgoing Chief Justice of India BR Gavai’s — “you are crossing all limits” — remarks about the ED to make their point.

So far as the Government’s rationale of public morality goes, similar attempts in the past have not always borne fruit. Tewari speaks of the Anti-Defection Law as a classical case of how morality cannot be enforced by law. This legislation has been on the statute since 1985 but defections have not stopped, he says.

Besides the above, INDIA bloc parties mention one more reason to justify their move to boycott the JPC.

They say “while the Constitution 130th Amendment Bill, to pass, requires a two-thirds majority of those present and voting, the other two Bills just require a simple majority.” So there’s nothing much left to discuss in the JPC, many INDIA bloc leaders say.

The Government, however, has a counter. The Opposition would have ample occasions to make its point should it join the JPC, senior ministers feel. They add that the Bills also provide for the PM, CM, ministers, to return to office once released from arrest.

That said, with the Opposition digging in heels despite the NCPSP breaking ranks, both sides once again appear headed for a major confrontation ahead of the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament.