Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 21: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram has hit out at the Constitution Amendment Bill that seeks removal of Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers, and ministers if they remain in jail for 30 days, calling it “extraordinary” and “patently unconstitutional.”

Taking to X, Chidambaram, a senior lawyer, remarked, “If an arrested Chief Minister does not get bail in 30 days, he will cease to be Chief Minister! No charges, no trial, no conviction — yet the verdict of the people will be overturned by a mere arrest. Have you heard of anything more bizarre in the legal world?”

He further argued that trial courts seldom grant bail, higher courts are reluctant, and thousands of applications pile up before the Supreme Court each month. “Meanwhile, 30 days will pass and elected governments will be destabilised. Can there be anything more illegal, unconstitutional, anti-democratic, and anti-federal?” he questioned.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid Opposition uproar. The proposal has been referred to a Joint Committee of 31 MPs from both Houses.

The Bill states that a Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or minister facing charges carrying a minimum five-year jail term can be removed from office if jailed beyond 30 days, even without conviction.

While Amit Shah defended the move as a step to “maintain integrity in politics,” Opposition parties alleged the law would be misused to target non-BJP governments using central agencies, thereby destabilising elected state administrations.