New Delhi, India – Former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal on Thursday voiced his strong opposition to three new bills introduced by the government. The contentious legislation proposes that a minister, chief minister, or even the Prime Minister could lose their position if they are arrested or detained for 30 consecutive days for a crime carrying a jail term of five years or more. Sibal argued that the true intent behind these bills is to specifically target and undermine the Opposition.
Speaking at a press conference, Sibal contended that the bills cannot be legally passed as they would require a constitutional amendment, for which the government lacks the necessary two-thirds majority. He further highlighted the perceived hypocrisy of the government, stating that while Opposition leaders have been “incarcerated for months merely based on first information reports (FIRs),” no such cases have been filed against anyone in the Union government.
“I want to ask the Union home minister [Amit Shah], was any FIR filed against anyone from the Union government?” Sibal said. He accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of systematically eroding human rights since 2014 by introducing laws that “cause termite infestation to the Constitution, and destroy the well-built structure.” He added that the BJP’s ultimate goal is to “destroy democracy.”
Sibal also drew a parallel to the ongoing controversy over the special intensive revision of the electoral roll in Bihar, which has seen tens of thousands of names removed without any new ones being added. He called this a form of “termite infestation” in the voters’ list, a move he believes is aimed at suppressing a specific group of voters.
The three bills, which were introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday amidst protests and sloganeering from the Opposition, are part of the government’s legislative agenda. Sibal, who has been a vocal critic of the government, has previously accused it of using laws to bring about a “dictatorship” in the country. He has also been a prominent voice against what he sees as an encroachment on judicial independence and has questioned the government’s actions on a range of issues, from the electoral process to the functioning of constitutional bodies.