New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has defended the controversial Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, which proposes the removal of top political leaders—including the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers—if they are detained for 30 consecutive days on serious crime charges. In an exclusive interview with news agency ANI, Shah said the bill is not a political vendetta and is aimed at upholding morality in public life.
“I want to ask the opposition should any PM, CM or any minister be in jail and run the government from there… is it befitting democracy?” Shah said. He accused the opposition of a “new trend” where leaders refuse to resign on moral grounds and instead attempt to govern from behind bars, a clear reference to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Shah also dismissed opposition claims that former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar was under “house arrest,” clarifying that Dhankhar resigned due to health issues. “He held a constitutional position and did good work during his tenure according to the Constitution. He has resigned because of health concerns and no one should try to stretch the issue to find something,” Shah stated.
The Home Minister lashed out at the opposition for disrupting Parliament during the bill’s introduction, arguing that a democratic process requires debate and voting, not obstruction. He pointed out that the bill applies equally to all leaders, including those from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and that courts would provide a check against any misuse by granting bail in cases of false charges.
In a strong rebuke to the Congress party, Shah highlighted what he called “double standards” by recalling how Rahul Gandhi had publicly torn up an ordinance brought by his own party’s government to save a convicted Lalu Prasad Yadav, but is now allied with him. Shah cited his own past and the resignations of leaders like L.K. Advani and Hemant Soren as examples of upholding moral high ground.
Regarding the controversy over Parliament security, Shah defended the decision to hand it over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), stating that it was a decision made by the Speaker’s office following the 2023 security breach.
Finally, Shah also criticized the INDIA bloc’s vice-presidential candidate, former Supreme Court judge Justice Sudarshan Reddy, for his 2011 judgment outlawing the Salwa Judum militia. Shah claimed the judgment protected Naxals and endangered security forces by disbanding the armed tribal force. He stated that the NDA’s pick for Vice President, C.P. Radhakrishnan, was not a strategic move for Tamil Nadu polls but a logical choice from the South to maintain regional balance with the President and Prime Minister.