Shashi Tharoor
NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday backed the Modi government’s new bills, which propose to remove ministers from office if they are jailed or detained for 30 days or more on charges that carry a conviction of five years or more.Going off the party line, Thaoor said that “on the face of it, it (the bill) seems reasonable and makes sense”.”As far as I am concerned, I don’t know those Bills well enough to give you a comment. On the face of it, it seems reasonable that anyone who does anything wrong should be liable to punishment and should not be holding a high constitutional office or a political office. I think that makes sense,” Tharoor told news agency ANI.The Lok Sabha MP also supported the government’s reported plan to send the bills to the committee for comprehensive deliberations.Earlier, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took strong exception to the bill and called it “draconian” and “undemocratic” Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill. Priyanka, who is also an MP from Kerala, said that the amendment being touted as an anti-corruption measure is just a “veil over the eyes of people,” claiming that a chief minister could be arrested on fabricated charges and be removed from their post after 30 days without a conviction if the bill is passed. “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,” the Wayanad MP told news agency ANI.She further said: “Tomorrow, you can put any kind of a case on a CM, have him arrested for 30 days without conviction, and he ceases to be a CM. It is absolutely anti-constitutional, undemocratic and very unfortunate.”Another senior Congress leader Venugopal also slammed the Centre over the Bill, terming it a “draconian law” and a diversionary tactic.”This is only a diversionary tactic. This is a draconian law. This is not going to be passed by the Parliament. They want to divert attention from electoral fraud and the Bihar Yatra…They are trying to constitutionalise vendetta politics,” Venugopal told the media.Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the ruling party wishes to bring such a law to remove opposition chief ministers after failing to defeat them electorally.
What does the Bills propose?
A set of three bills provides for mandatory resignation or removal of the Prime Minister, chief ministers and ministers at the Centre and in states or Union Territories (UTs), if they have spent 30 consecutive days under arrest or detention, on an allegation of committing offences punishable with imprisonment extending to five years or more.However, nothing will prevent such a Prime Minister, chief ministers or ministers from being subsequently appointed to the same office by President or governor, upon their release from custody.The timing of the amendments, two days before the end of Parliament’s Monsoon session, and their implications caught political circles by surprise. The Representation of the People’s Act, 1951 provides for the disqualification of members of state legislatures and Parliament if they are convicted with a sentence of two years or more. Convictions for serious offences such as corruption and drug trafficking result in disqualification irrespective of the duration of the sentence.
