- A bill proposes removing elected ministers arrested on serious charges after 30 days in custody
- Union Minister Amit Shah cited Delhi and Tamil Nadu cases where governments ran from jail
- The Constitution lacks clarity on whether arrested leaders should step down immediately
A bill proposing the removal of elected public servants arrested on serious charges and kept in custody for 30 days, was needed because governments are "being run from jail" these days, Union minister Amit Shah has told BJP spokespersons, with a sharp dig at Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal. "The constitution is unclear on the issue, and such a situation is "unjust to people's expectations," he has added.
There was chaos in parliament over the three bills tabled today, with the Opposition calling them unconstitutional. Copies of the bill were shred and the paper balls were tossed at Mr Shah while he was addressing the House.
Read: Opposition Shreds Bill To Sack Arrested Ministers, Throws It At Amit Shah
Shortly after, at a meeting with BJP spokespersons, Mr Shah said, "The purpose of the bill is that a government cannot be run from jail... It is unjust to the expectations with which the public elects their representatives".
"There is no clarity in the Constitution regarding this, which needs to be addressed," Mr Shah had said.
Asked why the bill is being brought now, Mr Shah had said such a situation had never occurred before where governments and ministries were run from jail, citing the situations in Delhi and Tamil Nadu sometime ago.
Delhi, Tamil Nadu Cases
In Tamil Nadu, a petition was filed when then Chief Minister Palaniswami and his ministers had gone to meet Sasikala Natarajan in jail, alleging she was calling the shots from behind the bars.
Last year, Mr Keriwal, after being arrested in the Delhi excise policy case, had run the government from jail for about six months. The matter had reached the High Court, which had said there is no clarity in the constitution regarding this.
Read: Congress Leader's 'Morality' Question To Amit Shah, His 'I Resigned' Reply
The Constitutional Position
The Supreme Court had declined to take a call on demands that Mr Kejriwal be forced to step down. "We are doubtful whether a court can direct an elected leader to step down... or not function as a Chief Minister or Minister... we leave it to Arvind Kejriwal to make the call," the judges had said.
Under the country's laws, where innocence is presumed until guilt is proved, ministers, MPs and MLAs have to step down only when they are convicted. The rule for other government servants, though, are different. They are placed under immediate suspension after arrest and sacked when convicted.
Experts have said while there is no legal impediment in running the government from jail, it is not practical given the physical constraints.
Leaders of the BJP have explained the lacunae saying the architects of the Constitution in a free India had never imagined that such a day would come when a leader would refuse to step down after being arrested.
What Opposition Said
The Opposition, though, has argued that with Central investigative agencies filing corruption cases against leaders and ministers in Opposition-ruled states, such a law is meant as a weapon.
"The BJP government wants to enjoy power and control without any accountability... This Bill has been brought to muzzle Opposition parties who are asking questions on behalf of the people," said Trinamool's Abhishek Banerjee.
"Is it possible that they would remove the Chief Minister? Does this happen anywhere? Suppose the ED files a case, the CBI files a case -- everyone knows they file fake cases. There is only .5 per cent conviction. This is unconstitutional so we protested," said Trinamool's Kalyan Banerjee.
Congress MP Manish Tewari raised serious constitutional objections. "The Bill is destructive of the basic structure of the Constitution because its potential for misuse is enormous. It violates Article 21, which guarantees due process of law. It also undermines the principle of collective responsibility of the Cabinet to the Legislature," he said.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj linked the Bill to earlier attempts to destabilise Opposition-ruled states.
"This is not a new conspiracy. Arvind Kejriwal had said earlier that if he had resigned, the Centre would have implicated other AAP leaders in false cases, jailed them, and toppled the Delhi government. This is exactly what is happening now - an attempt to topple Opposition governments by misusing laws," he added.
