The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated debate on Wednesday over the bills aimed at removing elected representatives arrested for over 30 days on serious charges, leading to a sharp exchange between Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress leader KC Venugopal.

As the government introduced the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Venugopal accused the Centre of attempting to sabotage the federal structure and core principles of the Constitution. He questioned the moral foundation of the proposed law, asking,
“When Amit Shah was the Home Minister of Gujarat and was arrested, did he uphold morality at that time?”

Responding strongly, Shah said,
“I want to set the record straight. Fake allegations were made against me, but I abided by morality and ethics. I resigned and did not accept any constitutional post until I was cleared of charges. They are trying to teach us morality? I had resigned before I was arrested.”

The proposed bills mandate that the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, and state or Union Territory ministers arrested and kept in custody for 30 consecutive days on charges attracting a minimum five-year sentence must resign on the 31st day or face automatic removal.

The government has argued that the move aims to strengthen probity in public life, but the opposition has labeled it unconstitutional and politically motivated, warning that it could be used to destabilize opposition-led governments.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called the bills “draconian and anti-constitutional”, saying,
“Tomorrow, you can put any case on a chief minister, keep him arrested for 30 days without conviction, and he loses his position. This is absolutely undemocratic and very unfortunate.”

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that the bills could turn India into a police state, asking,
“Who will arrest the Prime Minister? The BJP wants to make our country a police state through these bills. Power is not eternal.”

The bills have now been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), which will submit its report on the first day of the next session. Amit Shah assured that the opposition will have an opportunity to present objections before the panel.