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Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Thursday that new bills allowing the removal of elected representatives arrested on serious criminal charges and held in custody without bail for more than 30 days will be "welcomed by the whole country" as before there was no law to act against corrupt ministers and Chief Ministers.
"The Centre has brought a key bill under which ministers of the central and state governments, the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers will lose their posts if they are arrested for serious crimes and are in jail for 30 days. Today, it is being tabled in the Rajya Sabha. This bill will be discussed in the JPC. The entire country will welcome it. There is no power to take action in the law till now against ministers and Chief Ministers," Reddy said at a press conference. He also criticised the INDIA bloc for opposing the three bills that lay down a legal framework for the removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, Union and State Ministers, and Ministers of Union Territories, who are arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days without obtaining bail, on charges of corruption or serious offences and have been detained for at least 30 days. Calling the conduct of the Opposition in Lok Sabha "unfortunate," Reddy said, "The way the INDIA alliance has acted in the Lok Sabha is unfortunate. This bill is not for any party; it is for everyone. Kejriwal had been in jail for four years as the Chief Minister of Delhi. He held review meetings in jail. He was jailed for defrauding hundreds of crores in the Delhi liquor scam. Senthil Balaji continued as a minister in Tamil Nadu from jail." Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21, 2024, in connection with the alleged scam surrounding the Delhi excise policy. He was released five months later after the Supreme Court granted him bail on September 13. Meanwhile, Senthil Balaji was a Tamil Nadu state minister who was accused of being involved in a cash-for-jobs scam that occurred during his tenure as transport minister. He was arrested in June 2023 by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and later released on bail. Balaji resigned from his post on April 27, 2025, after the top court gave him a choice to retain the minister's post or his bail. Citing alleged Rs 12 lakh crore corruption flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the report also alleged the involvement of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. "Now, they are giving speeches on moral values. During the Manmohan Singh regime, the CAG has put before the people that Sonia Gandhi committed corruption of Rs 12 lakh crores. Many scams came to light during their tenure. Moral values are needed for those who make laws," Reddy said. Amid protests by INDIA bloc, with leaders calling the proposed amendments as "unconstitutional", "draconian", and a "diversionary tactic", Amit Shah introduced in the Lok Sabha the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025, to further amend the Constitution of India and the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025, apart from the bill to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The bills were sent to the joint committee of Parliament. (ANI)
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