NEW DELHI: It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had the draft of Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025 reworked to include himself in its ambit, home minister Amit Shah shared in a post on X on Wednesday.
Sources in the government said Modi added the provision requiring a prime minister who spends 30 consecutive days under arrest or detention for an alleged offence punishable with a prison term extending up to five years or more, to resign on the 31st day, based on the reasoning that moral standards in politics must apply as much to prime ministers as they do to any chief minister or minister at the Centre and in states or Union Territories.
The original draft of the 130th Constitutional amendment Bill had proposed to cover only chief ministers and ministers at the Centre and in the states.
As per the Bill, introduced by Shah on Wednesday, in case the prime minister does not tender his resignation on the 31st day of his arrest, "he shall cease to hold office from the day falling thereafter".
The Bill was on Wednesday referred to a joint parliamentary committee for thorough scrutiny. Dismissing the opposition's charge that the Bill was a ploy by the Modi regime to dislodge state govts by having their chief ministers and ministers removed through arrest in "motivated" cases, a senior govt functionary said that the same provisions apply to the prime minister and Union ministers.
The functionary said it was high time that the PM, CM and ministers display character and conduct that aligns with constitutional morality and principles of good governance, and cited the example of govt employees who are deemed suspended if detained in custody for only 48 hours.
"Why should bureaucrats/govt personnel alone bear moral responsibility in the event of detention or arrest? Ministers are also public servants and must withdraw from office if arrested for 30 days. They can always rejoin the same post after release," underlined the functionary. He added that the 30-day timeframe is enough for the affected PM/CM/minister to apply for bail and have it heard and decided, right till the last court of appeal.
Sources in the government said Modi added the provision requiring a prime minister who spends 30 consecutive days under arrest or detention for an alleged offence punishable with a prison term extending up to five years or more, to resign on the 31st day, based on the reasoning that moral standards in politics must apply as much to prime ministers as they do to any chief minister or minister at the Centre and in states or Union Territories.
The original draft of the 130th Constitutional amendment Bill had proposed to cover only chief ministers and ministers at the Centre and in the states.
As per the Bill, introduced by Shah on Wednesday, in case the prime minister does not tender his resignation on the 31st day of his arrest, "he shall cease to hold office from the day falling thereafter".
The Bill was on Wednesday referred to a joint parliamentary committee for thorough scrutiny. Dismissing the opposition's charge that the Bill was a ploy by the Modi regime to dislodge state govts by having their chief ministers and ministers removed through arrest in "motivated" cases, a senior govt functionary said that the same provisions apply to the prime minister and Union ministers.
The functionary said it was high time that the PM, CM and ministers display character and conduct that aligns with constitutional morality and principles of good governance, and cited the example of govt employees who are deemed suspended if detained in custody for only 48 hours.
"Why should bureaucrats/govt personnel alone bear moral responsibility in the event of detention or arrest? Ministers are also public servants and must withdraw from office if arrested for 30 days. They can always rejoin the same post after release," underlined the functionary. He added that the 30-day timeframe is enough for the affected PM/CM/minister to apply for bail and have it heard and decided, right till the last court of appeal.
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