NEW DELHI: Union Home minister Amit Shah, during a comprehensive interview with a news agency on Monday, firmly supported the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill, terming it as a historic move towards re-establishing democratic morality and accountability in governance.
Shah also strongly attacked the Opposition, accusing them of leading people astray and sabotaging Parliamentary processes for political reasons.
The Bill, tabled in the Lok Sabha on August 20, suggests that any prime minister, chief minister, or minister at the Centre or in a state who is arrested under charges inviting a sentence of five years or more and does not get bail within 30 days automatically loses the post.
This maintains democratic dignity. “Nobody should govern from prison,” Shah said, in reply to criticism that the provision violates the principle of presumption of innocence.
He explained that the amendment does not interfere with the rights of the judiciary: “If a person is wrongly implicated, he can go to the High Court or Supreme Court. If the courts do not give bail within 30 days, there has to be prima facie merit.
Refuting charges that the amendment is politically motivated or targeted at Opposition leaders, Shah reasserted its broad applicability.
“Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be out of office if he got arrested and could not arrange bail in 30 days. No one is exempt from this law,” he said.
He gave the instances of Delhi minister Satyendar Jain and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, both of whom continued to be in office while in jail. “Should the government go on running from jail? That’s the actual question,” he declared.
Shah accused the Congress party of hypocrisy, recalling Rahul Gandhi’s 2013 act of tearing up an
ordinance that protected convicted lawmakers.
“He had claimed moral standards mattered most. Today, the same Congress stands with leaders they once denounced,” he remarked.
He also pointed out that the UPA-era legislation already disqualified MPs and MLAs convicted for more than two years, and the present amendment simply takes that idea a step further by instituting a constitutional mechanism of pre-trial accountability.
Responding to fears of abuse of Central agencies, Shah once again said that only the judiciary can refuse bail. “CBI or ED don’t have the final word—our independent judiciary does. If the cases are weak, courts will reject them,” he said, raising eyebrows over why Opposition leaders are questioning judicial integrity now.