PM Modi’s New Bills to Topple State Govts?
TMC slams bills empowering CBI, ED against state leaders.
In a fiery response to the central government’s latest legislative move, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs accused the BJP-led administration of introducing bills designed to destabilize opposition-ruled state governments. The contentious bills, set to be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, have sparked a political firestorm, with TMC leaders alleging that they grant excessive powers to central agencies like the CBI and ED to target and oust elected state officials.
The three bills in question—the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2025, the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2025—stipulate that a prime minister, Union minister, chief minister, or state minister arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days on serious criminal charges (carrying a minimum five-year jail term) will automatically lose their position on the 31st day. Critics argue this provision could be weaponized to undermine opposition-led state governments.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale took to X to lambast the bills, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of devising “new tricks” to topple state governments. “When vote-chori is exposed, Modi-Shah are looking for new ways to destabilize,” Gokhale posted, emphasizing that a person is only a criminal upon conviction, not mere accusation. He pointed out that arrests by central agencies do not equate to guilt and highlighted a striking statistic: “In the last 11 years, zero arrests of any Union/State ministers of BJP. All arrests only of Opposition leaders.”
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TMC Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra echoed these concerns, warning that the bills undermine India’s federal structure and judiciary. “Opposition predictions come true—Constitution being changed by BJP with only 240 MPs,” she posted on X. Moitra argued that the bills enable the Union government to use agencies like the ED and CBI to arrest opposition chief ministers on “fake charges” and remove them without a court conviction, bypassing due process.
TMC Rajya Sabha Leader Derek O’Brien also criticized the move, calling it a “stunt” by a “shaky 239-seat Modi coalition” to disrupt Parliament. The bills are set to be referred to a Joint Committee of Parliament, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah moving the motion in the Lok Sabha.
The controversy has intensified debates over the misuse of central agencies and the erosion of federal principles, with opposition parties rallying against what they see as an overreach by the BJP-led government. As the bills head to parliamentary scrutiny, they are likely to fuel further political tensions.
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