Govt puts draft law seeking removal of 'tainted' ministers on backburner, Pg7

Key Highlights:

• The Union government has put the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, on hold, prioritizing the Women's Reservation Law and the Delimitation Bill.
• The 130th Constitution Amendment Bill proposes the removal of ministers arrested for serious offenses and detained for 30 consecutive days.
• The decision to defer was made to focus on securing a two-thirds majority for the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which includes women's reservation and delimitation.
• A Joint Committee of Parliament examining the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill deferred adopting its report due to lack of consensus and calls for wider consultations.

Detailed Insights:

• The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeks to amend Articles 75, 164, and 239AA, allowing for the removal of a Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or other minister if detained for 30 days for offenses punishable by five or more years of imprisonment.
• Removal under the proposed bill could be directed by the President or Governor on advice, or automatically on the 31st day of detention.
• Opposition parties and even allies like the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) expressed reservations, citing concerns about potential misuse, anti-federal implications, and contradiction of natural justice principles.
• Suggestions were made to replace "removal" with "suspension" to avoid diluting the bill's purpose, and to incorporate provisions preventing misuse of the law.
• The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which aimed to implement 33% women's reservation and initiate delimitation based on the 2011 census, failed to pass in the Lok Sabha due to insufficient majority.
• The government's current focus is on building consensus for the Women's Reservation Law and Delimitation Bill, which are considered priority legislative items.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025: A proposed law to remove ministers detained for 30 days for serious criminal offenses.
• Women's Reservation Law: Legislation aiming to reserve one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
• Delimitation Bill: A bill intended to readjust the allocation of seats in legislative bodies based on population changes and implement women's reservation.
• Joint Committee of Parliament: An ad hoc committee comprising members from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to examine specific bills or issues.
• Natural Justice: Principles of fairness, equity, and justice, including the right to a fair hearing and absence of bias, embedded in the Indian legal system.