PM-CM Removal Bill draft put on hold after NDA MPs oppose key proposals

New Delhi: In a twist, the parliamentary panel examining the PM-CM Removal Bill on Friday deferred adoption of its draft report midway through voting on its recommendations after several ruling NDA MPs opposed key proposals.

Sources said the Bill is unlikely to be taken up in the upcoming Monsoon session.

The Joint Committee of Parliament on the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, chaired by BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, had circulated a draft report containing five recommendations. Members had voted on the first two recommendations and were discussing the third when the panel decided to put the exercise on hold.


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"The committee unanimously felt that more consultations with stakeholders are required," Sarangi said after the meeting, stressing that the proposed law should command broad political support.

Sources said the first two recommendations were cleared by majority vote, although a few ruling alliance MPs voted against them. The panel, however, decided to defer adoption before voting on the remaining proposals.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, who had submitted dissent notes, withdrew them after the committee postponed adoption of the report.

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The draft report significantly diluted the original Bill by recommending temporary suspension, instead of automatic removal, of the Prime Minister, Union ministers and Chief Ministers detained for 30 consecutive days on charges carrying a maximum punishment of five years or more.

It also proposed an automatic reinstatement if the accused is acquitted or prosecution fails to proceed within a specified period, besides recommending fast-track trials and a clearly defined list of offences that would trigger suspension.

The Bill, introduced by the government last year, provides for the automatic removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and ministers who remain in judicial custody for 30 days without resigning. Opposition parties have attacked it as a potential instrument to unseat opposition governments through politically motivated cases, with most of them boycotting the JPC proceedings.

The committee is now expected to hold further consultations before finalising its report. Any changes recommended by the panel will have to be approved by the Union Cabinet before the government moves official amendments in Parliament. As a constitutional amendment, the legislation will require a two-thirds majority in both Houses.