‘Super emergency, Hitlerian assault on Indian democracy’: Mamata slams Bill to remove ministers

The Bill will amend Article 75 of the Constitution, which primarily deals with the appointment and responsibilities of the Council of Ministers, including the Prime Minister.

“I condemn the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill, proposed to be tabled by the Government of India today. I condemn it as a step towards something that is more than a super-Emergency, a step to end the democratic era of India forever. This draconian step comes as a death knell for democracy and federalism in India,” Mamata Banerjee posted on X.

“To suppress the voting rights of the Indian citizens in the name of Special Intensive Revision (SIR), this is another super-draconian step by the Centre now,” she said.

“This Bill now wants to finish the Independence of our Judiciary. What we are witnessing is unprecedented – the Bill is nothing short of a Hitlerian assault on the very soul of Indian democracy. The Bill seeks to strip the judiciary of its Constitutional role – to take away the power of Courts to adjudicate on matters that lie at the very heart of justice and federal balance,” she stated.

“This is not reform. This is regression… This is how authoritarian regimes, even fascist ones in history, consolidated power. It reeks of the very mindset that the world once condemned in the darkest chapters of the 20th century,” Banerjee added.

The Chief Minister further wrote, “To weaken the Courts is to weaken the people. To deny them the right to seek justice is to deny them democracy itself. The Bill strikes at the basic structure of the Constitution – federalism, separation of powers, and judicial review – principles that even Parliament cannot override. If allowed to pass, it will be a death warrant for Constitutional governance in India,” she wrote, “We must resist this dangerous overreach.”

“The Bill seeks to empower the Union to intrude upon the mandate of the people, handing sweeping powers to unelected authorities (ED, CBI – whom the Supreme Court has described as ‘caged parrots’) to interfere in the functioning of elected State governments. It is a step to empower the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister in a sinister manner at the expense of the basic principles of our Constitution,” wrote Banerjee.

“The Bill must be resisted at any cost! Democracy must be saved at this moment! The people will not forgive any attempt to take away their Courts, their rights, and their democracy,” she added.

Notably, a number of West Bengal cabinet ministers, including former education and industries minister Partha Chatterjee (in the school jobs scam) and Jyotipriyo Mullick, former food minister (in the ration scam), were arrested by central agencies and jailed for a prolonged period of time.