Parliament Session: On Wednesday, the opposition INDIA bloc leaders intensified the protests in the Lok Sabha soon after Union Home Minister Amit Shah tabled the three contentious bills for the removal of the prime minister, chief ministers, and ministers under arrest for 30 consecutive days on serious charges.
Some members tore the papers and threw them at the Home Minister while he was tabling the proposed laws. The opposition alleged that the new piece of legislation would only bring India closer to a “police state.”
‘Draconian’ piece of legislation
Congress leader and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra described the Bills as “draconian” and said presenting them as an “anti-corruption measure was just to pull a veil across the eyes of the people”.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee said the legislation’s intention was “to retain power, money and control over the nation, but without shouldering accountability.”
AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said the “government is hell-bent on creating a Police State”. “This will be the final nail in the coffin of elected governments,” he said.
What are the contentious bills?
The contentious bills are the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, which covers the PM, states, and Delhi NCT; the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill; and the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill.
The three bills propose that a sitting minister, chief minister, or prime minister will automatically be out of office if they are arrested or detained for 30 days straight for an offence that carries a jail term of at least five years.
Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday slammed the Narendra Modi government for introducing the ‘extraordinary and patently unconstitutional’ Bills. The former Home Minister said there could perhaps be nothing ‘more bizarre in the legal world’ than having some cease to be a Chief Minister after failing to get bail in 30 days.
Sent to Parliamentary Panel
The bills will be taken up in the next Lok Sabha session since the Monsoon Session was adjourned sine die. They have been sent to a joint panel of Parliament for further scrutiny.
But does the government have the numbers to pass the bills and turn them into a law?
Well, the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill covering the prime minister, states, and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi proposes to amend the Constitution. This would need a two-thirds majority in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and thus may not pass as the BJP-led ruling alliance does not have the required two-thirds majority.
“The Constitutional Amendment Bill was introduced in response to the Modi government’s commitment against political corruption in the country and the public’s outrage,” the government said.
The other two bills for union territories, including J&K and Ladakh, would need a simple majority. These two can be passed easily as the BJP-led NDA has a majority in the Parliament.
What is the Constitutional Amendment Bill?
The Constitution Amendment Bill aims to amend three articles in the Constitution of India – Articles 75, 164 and 239AA.
It states that any minister, Chief Minister, or Prime Minister who is arrested and in custody for over 30 days after being accused of an offence punishable by a jail term of five years or more shall be removed from office.
How are numbers stacked up?
A constitutional amendment Bill needs to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament before it goes to the President for assent.
In the 542-member Lok Sabha, the two-thirds majority would be at least 361. But the BJP-led NDA currently has just 293 members in the Lok Sabha. Managing the remaining 68 votes would not be easy for the ruling alliance.
The government is hell-bent on creating a Police State.
The situation is no different in the Upper House—the Rajya Sabha. As of now, it has 239 members, and the Bill would need the support of 160 for a two-thirds majority. The NDA has 132 Rajya Sabha members, 28 less than the two-thirds target.
Clearly, as things stand, the Bill won’t clear either of the houses without the Opposition’s support.
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