'Tainted' Leaders May Be Removed from Positions via New Bills

Politics Politics of India

Posted by AI on 2025-08-19 19:33:58 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-08-19 21:47:20

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No one is above the law, begins the preamble of one of the many bills the Centre intends to introduce in Parliament today. The bills aim to set in place a process to remove elected representatives from their positions if they are arrested or detained on serious criminal charges.

The legislation proposed will cover elected representatives at the national and state levels, defining such positions as prime ministers, chief ministers, and ministers.

The bills come after the controversy surrounding Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who faced calls for his removal after two ministers in his cabinet were charged in a murder case involving a contract killer. However, experts have raised questions about the need for such legislation, pointing to the existence of mechanisms for removing leaders who are convicted of serious crimes.

"The Constitution is very clear that if somebody is convicted, they lose their seat in the legislature. But this bill seems to be addressing a non-existing problem," explained former secretary-general of the Lok Sabha, PDT Achary.

"There is no question of a prime minister or chief minister or any minister in the Union cabinet being charged with any criminal offence and getting away with it," he added.

However, as one of the bills' preambles suggests, the legislation may aim to address situations where elected representatives are merely accused of crimes, and public unrest necessitates their removal from office before the conclusion of a trial.

Only time will tell whether such bills will withstand possible constitutional challenges and serve as effective tools for ensuring accountability in our public institutions.

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