The Lok Sabha plunged into chaos on Wednesday as members of the Opposition tore up copies of three contentious bills on the removal of the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers arrested on serious charges for 30 days, minutes after the legislations were tabled by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Opposition also trooped into the well of the Lower House and resorted to sloganeering, even as Mr Shah rejected criticism that the Bills were brought in haste. He assured that they would be sent to the Joint Committee of Parliament, where members of both Houses, including the Opposition, would get an opportunity to give their suggestions. Follow LIVE UPDATES here
“We cannot be so shameless that we continue to occupy constitutional positions while facing serious charges,” the Union Minister said.
VIDEO | Parliament Monsoon Session: Opposition MPs tear copies of three bills introduced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and throw paper bits towards him in Lok Sabha. Speaker Om Birla adjourns the House amid uproar. #ParliamentMonsoonSession #MonsoonSession
(Source: Third… pic.twitter.com/aAY12oBIFV
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 20, 2025
Opposition MPs, including AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress’ Manish Tewari and K C Vengopal, spoke against the introduction of the Bills, terming the proposed law against the Constitution and federalism.
Amid continuous noisy protests, the House was adjourned till 3pm. When the House resumed briefly, Mr Shah said the bills will be sent to a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee that will present its report before the next session of Parliament. Amid continuous protests, the House was further adjourned till 5pm.
The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2025; the Constitution (One Hundred And Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2025 seek the removal of the Prime Minister or chief minister of a state or Union Territory when arrested or detained on serious criminal charges for 30 days in a row. If any one of them is arrested and detained in custody for consecutive 30 days for offences that attract a jail term of at least five years, they will lose their job on the 31st day.
Also Read | Shashi Tharoor Differs With Congress Again On ‘Bill To Remove PM, Chief Ministers’
Interestingly, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji had not resigned from their posts ever after their arrests on different charges.
“A minister, who for any period of 30 consecutive days during holding the office as such, is arrested and detained in custody, on allegation of committing an offence under any law for the time being in force, which is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or more, shall be removed from his office by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister to be tendered by the thirty-first day, after being taken in such custody,” one of the bill says.
“Provided that if the advice of the prime minister, for the removal of such minister is not tendered to the President by the thirty-first day, he shall cease to be a minister, with effect from the day falling thereafter,” it adds.
The Opposition described the bills as “draconian” and accused the ruling BJP of trying to convert the country into a “police state”.
Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “I see it as a completely draconian thing as it goes against everything. To say it as an anti-corruption measure is just to pull a veil across the eyes of the people.”
She added: “Tomorrow, you can put any kind of a case on a Chief Minister, have him arrested for 30 days without conviction, and he ceases to be a Chief Minister. It is absolutely anti-constitutional, undemocratic and very unfortunate.”
Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi alleged the BJP government wanted to turn the country into a “police state”. “This bill is unconstitutional. Who will arrest the Prime Minister?… All in all, the BJP government wants to make our country a police state through these bills. We will oppose them…The BJP is forgetting that power is not eternal,” he said.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee said the government is “solely interested in amassing power, wealth and control without any accountability”. We strongly condemn this authoritarian attitude and oppose the introduction of this draconian constitutional amendment bill,” he said on X.
Among the BJP MPs who supported the Bill is Manan Kumar Mishra, who accused the Opposition of trying to divert public attention. “The government is bringing an important bill in which those who have been in jail for more than 30 days will not be allowed to hold ministerial positions. There can be no work more important than this, but the opposition wants to obstruct Parliament,” he said.
