New Delhi: Amid opposition protests, Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday (August 20) introduced the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025; The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025; and The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2025 in the Lok Sabha. The three Bills, which were opposed at the introduction stage by the opposition, have been sent to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC).The constitutional amendment Bill, if passed, will give additional powers to the Union government to remove a chief minister or anyone in their cabinet if they are detained in jail for 30 days, even if not convicted. Opposition members opposed the legislation and said that the Bills make way for a “police state”, violate due process, open doors for political misuse and target opposition-ruled states. While Congress leader K.C. Venugopal raised Shah’s arrest when he was Gujarat home minister, the Union minister retorted that he had resigned before his arrest on “moral grounds”.In identical statements of reasons and objects the bills state: “A Minister, who is facing allegations of serious criminal offences, arrested and detained in custody, may thwart or hinder the canons of constitutional morality and principles of good governance and eventually diminish the constitutional trust reposed by people in him.”The Wire had reported on Tuesday, that Shah had written to the Union minister of parliamentary affairs Kiren Rijiju, the legislative department of the ministry of law and justice, the Lok Sabha secretariat, and the legislative office of the Lok Sabha to show some leniency so the bills may be brought in the current session that is due to end on Thursday.‘Creating Gestapo to ensure democracy does not survive’Opposing the bill, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said that the three bills are “nothing but creating Gestapo to ensure democracy does not survive.”“This violates the principle of separation of power, due process and undermines the right of people to elect a government. It gives executive agencies a free run to be judge, jury and executioner based on flimsy allegations. Only when an offence is proved beyond reasonable doubt, only then you can be removed from the post and membership. But here a mere allegation and accusation will result in losing ministerial post,” he said.Owaisi said that in a parliamentary democracy, chief ministers and ministers can only be removed in two ways: if the prime minister recommends it to the president, or if they lose the confidence of the legislature.“This bill will empower the unelected bureaucracy to play the role of the legislature. It undermines parliamentary democracy, and would leave chief ministers and ministers at the mercy of executive agencies. The severity of this amendment is that one loses their position not only if arrested, but also only if detained,” he said.“This bill clearly violates 74(1). This is like 1933 when the Gestapo was formed in Germany, this government is hell bent on creating a police state. This will be a death knell on the elected government.”Violates Basic Structure, rule of lawThe Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill seeks to amend Article 75 of the Constitution and provides that an elected chief minister can be removed if he/she is detained or arrested for 30 or more days, even if his conviction has not happened.Congress MP Manish Tewari said that the bill is destructive of the Basic Structure of the Constitution which says that there should be Rule of Law.“Basis of rule of law is innocent until proven guilty. This Bill makes an investigating officer the boss of the Prime Minister of India,” he said.“It violates Article 21, the due process clause. FIR, even framing of charge does not substantiate guilt. This Bill turns fundamental jurisprudence of Art 21 on its head. It distorts Parliamentary democracy, which is again basic structure, by displacing Will of the People. It opens doors for political misuse. It throws all constitutional safeguards to the winds.”While RSP MP N.K. Premchandran said that the Bill was being brought in haste and was only made available to MPs late last night, Shah said that he would be sending the the three bills to a joint committee.“What is the undue haste and urgent need for bringing such a constitutional amendment bill? That means the bill is lacking in bonafide. This is with the malafide intention to destabilise opposition ruled states in various parts of the country,” said Premchandran.Morality during Shah’s arrest while he was Gujarat home ministerVenugopal said where the question of morality was during Shah’s arrest in July 2010, in connection with the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, while he was Gujarat home minister.“BJP is saying that this Bill is to bring morality in politics. Can I ask the home minister? When he was the home minister of Gujarat and was arrested, did he show this morality?”Shah then rose to counter him to say that he had resigned before he was arrested.“I want to place on record that when false accusations were placed, before I was arrested, I resigned on moral grounds. Until I was cleared by courts I did not take umbrage under any constitutional post. They are teaching us morality? I had resigned before arrest,” he said.Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav too opposed the Bill while the house was adjourned amid protests from opposition parties.When the House reconvened at 3 pm, Speaker Om Birla accused opposition parties of creating a ruckus while a law that will bring morality into politics was being brought in parliament. The bills were then sent to a joint committee, which Shah proposed would submit its report by the first day of the next parliament session.The bills come a year after two opposition chief ministers were arrested ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. While Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren had resigned prior to his arrest, then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had remained in office even while he was in jail. Two other Delhi ministers – Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain – had also faced arrests before being released on bail. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court in April had taken objection to Tamil Nadu minister V. Senthil Balaji continuing in the cabinet while he was out on bail in a money laundering case.