The Congress on Sunday said it would ‘strongly oppose’ the proposed Constitution amendment Bill that seeks the automatic removal of the Prime Minister, chief ministers and ministers if they remain in judicial custody for 30 consecutive days in cases involving serious criminal offences.The party also expressed confidence that the BJP-led government would fail to secure the two-thirds majority required to pass the legislation during the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning July 20. PTI reported that a parliamentary panel examining the Bills is expected to adopt its report on July 17.
What is the Bill?
The proposed Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill provides for the automatic removal of the prime minister, chief ministers and ministers from office if they remain in judicial custody for 30 consecutive days in cases involving offences punishable with imprisonment of more than five years. Introduced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in August 2025, the Bill was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, which is expected to submit its report during the upcoming Monsoon Session.Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the legislation was designed to facilitate “political harassment” of the Opposition.“They will try to bring the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which we are going to oppose. It is a dangerous Bill that was introduced in August of 2025 and was subsequently referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), which most opposition parties boycotted,” Ramesh told PTI.Explaining the provisions of the Bill, he said, “The Bill states that if a minister is in jail for 30 consecutive days for a criminal offence punishable by more than five years, then on the 31st day, he or she will be dismissed.”Calling the proposal unprecedented, Ramesh argued, “This is extraordinary. I mean, court proceedings are still going on. In India, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. We all know how the probe agencies have been functioning in the (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi-Home Minister Amit Shah regime.”Describing the proposal as politically motivated, he said, “This is nothing but political vendetta” and added, “It is to ensure political harassment of your adversaries.”The Congress leader also said the party would oppose the legislation if it is brought before Parliament during the Monsoon Session.“They may try to reintroduce it in this session, during the Monsoon Session… We are going to oppose it, we are going to oppose the delimitation Bill which came during a Special Session on April 16 and the home minister was humiliated beyond measure on April 17 when he got only 298 MPs for the Constitutional amendment on delimitation, whereas he required 352 votes,” he said.Expressing confidence that the government lacked the numbers to amend the Constitution, Ramesh asserted, “I will say with confidence that Mr Amit Shah and Mr Narendra Modi will not get two-thirds majority if they try to push the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill on the dismissal of ministers, CMs and the delimitation Bill which they lost on April 17.”He further alleged that Shah had attempted to engineer splits within Opposition parties.“He split the TMC and the Shiv Sena (UBT). Yes, those splits are a challenge for us. It is a setback for the Shiv Sena (UBT), it is a setback for the TMC, and it is a setback for the opposition. But our unity and solidarity continues,” Ramesh said.The remarks come days before the Joint Parliamentary Committee is expected to adopt its reports on the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill and the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill. The committee, chaired by BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, has consulted constitutional experts, retired judges, lawyers, government officials and political leaders as part of its deliberations.
