New Delhi: The Joint Parliamentary Committee deliberating the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, decided to put the adoption of its crucial draft report on hold to facilitate wider stakeholder consultations. The proposed legislation seeks a major constitutional amendment to automatically remove the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, and State Chief Ministers if they remain detained for 30 consecutive days on serious criminal charges. Panel Chairperson and BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi stated that while five key recommendations were slated for passage, the committee unanimously agreed that the immense national importance of the bill necessitates extensive deliberations to achieve political unanimity across the board.
Despite the official stance of seeking broader consensus, parliamentary sources indicated that the decision to halt the report’s adoption followed intense pressure from Opposition lawmakers during the high-level meeting. Prominent Opposition members, including AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MP Supriya Sule, and YSR Congress Party Rajya Sabha MP S. Niranjan Reddy, raised strenuous objections to several core clauses of the draft bill. The developments have prompted the panel to consider approaching Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to formally request an extension of time to finalise and submit the comprehensive report.
The internal rift expanded further as even ruling party lawmakers joined Opposition members in questioning a critical recommendation made by the panel’s drafting subcommittee. The recommendation suggested softening the statutory language by replacing the stark terms “removal” and “cease to be a Minister” with the word “suspension.” Committee members aggressively questioned Home Ministry officials deposed before the panel, demanding clarity on whether a detained political leader should enjoy any administrative relief or retain ministerial privileges while suspended or out on bail. The explanations provided by the ministry officials reportedly failed to satisfy the panel, leading to the collective decision to stall the legislative draft.
