Decision Deferred on Bill to Remove PM and CMs from Office, Parliamentary Panel Seeks Wider Consultation

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the bill related to the removal of the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers from office after being taken into custody on serious criminal charges has postponed the adoption of its draft report. The decision was taken while voting was underway on each of the five recommendations included in the panel's draft report on the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill. During the meeting, the committee decided that further consultations with all stakeholders and additional discussions among its members were necessary before finalising the report. As a result, the adoption of the draft report was deferred. AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule had submitted dissent notes on the draft. However, after the panel decided at the last moment to postpone the adoption of the report, both members withdrew their dissent notes. BJP MP and committee chairperson Aparajita Sarangi said the Joint Parliamentary Committee had unanimously agreed that more consultations with the concerned stakeholders were required before reaching a final decision. Notably, some members of the ruling party also voted against the committee's first two recommendations. Despite this, both recommendations were approved by a majority during the voting process. The committee had earlier recommended that if the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, or Chief Ministers are kept in custody for 30 consecutive days in connection with serious criminal charges, they should be suspended from office rather than being permanently removed. The proposed suspension would remain subject to the outcome of the legal proceedings.