Citing Kejriwal's Case, Amit Shah Defends Bills To Sack Jailed Ministers: 'In Democracy...'

Last Updated:August 22, 2025, 16:32 IST

Referring to Kejriwal’s continued hold on power despite being in custody, Shah questioned whether the Constitution should be amended to address such situations

The three contentious bills have been sent to a joint parliamentary committee for further deliberation. (Photo: Sansad TV)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday cited former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while defending three new bills aimed at removing any prime minister, chief minister or minister who remains in jail for 30 consecutive days.

Referring to Kejriwal’s continued hold on power despite being in custody, Shah questioned whether the Constitution should be amended to address such situations.

“Recently, an incident occurred — the CM of Delhi was running the govt even after being imprisoned. So, should the Constitution be amended or not?" the Union Minister’s office shared in a post on X.

Kejriwal was arrested in March last year after ignoring nine summons from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor scam. He became the first sitting chief minister in Indian history to be arrested while in office.

Shah stressed that the proposed legislation is not targeted at any single party. “In a democracy, the responsibility of upholding the standards of morality lies with both the ruling party and the opposition. This bill is not for any one party. It will apply to BJP CMs as well as to the PM," he said.

The Home Minister also questioned whether it is acceptable for someone to govern from jail.

“Does the nation’s public want any PM, CM or Minister to run the govt while being in jail? When the Constitution was drafted, it was never imagined that such shameless individuals would refuse to resign even after going to jail. That is why no such provision was included in the Constitution."

The three bills — the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025; and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025 — were introduced in Parliament earlier this week.

They propose that any prime minister, chief minister or minister who is arrested and held in custody for 30 days for an offence punishable by a minimum of five years in prison will automatically be removed from office on the 31st day. The President or the Governor, depending on jurisdiction, will have the authority to dismiss them.

News politics Citing Kejriwal's Case, Amit Shah Defends Bills To Sack Jailed Ministers: 'In Democracy...'

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