House panel on Bills for removal of jailed ministers set up, 26 of 31 members from NDA

While the NCP (SP) is a member of the Opposition INDIA bloc, it had said earlier that it would be a part of the House panel, calling it a chance to put forward its views on the matter. Asserting the NCP (SP)’s opposition to the Bills, Sule had told reporters: “The Congress hasn’t contacted us and there has been no discussion on whether to be a part of the committee or not.”

The Joint Committee of Parliament will examine The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, and The Government Of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, which were introduced in the Monsoon Session.

The BJP members of the panel include former Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Anurag Thakur, plus Bhartruhari Mahtab, Pradan Baruah, Brijmohan Agrawal, Vishnu Dayal Ram, D K Aruna, Parshottambhai Rupala, Brij Lal, Ujjwal Deorao Nikam, Nabam Rebia, Neeraj Shekhar, Manan Kumar Mishra and Dr K Laxman.

NDA Lok Sabha MPs who are part of the Committee include the TDP’s Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, the JD(U)’s Devesh Chandra Thakur, Shiv Sena MP Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, JanaSena Party MP Balashowry Vallabhaneni, Sarvodaya Karnata Paksha MP Dr Indra Hang Subba, the NCP’s Sunil Dattatreya Tatkare, M Mallesh Babu from the JD(S), the UPPL’s Joyanta Basumatary and LJP (RV) MP Rajesh Verma. NDA MPs from the Rajya Sabha who are members of the panel are the AGP’s Birendra Prasad Baishya, the AIADMK’s C Ve Shanmugam and the YSRCP’s Nirajan Reddy.

The Opposition had strongly opposed the Bills, which seek to amend Article 75 of the Constitution pertaining to the appointment and responsibilities of the Council of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, and cover the Union Territories and J&K.

As per The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill: “A Minister who for any period of 30 consecutive days during holding the office as such is arrested and detained in custody, on allegation of committing an offence under any law for the time being in force, which is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or more, shall be removed from his office by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, to be tendered by the 31st day after being taken in such custody….”

The Opposition had cited instances such as the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and JMM chief Hemant Soren (who quit ahead of being arrested), to express the apprehension that the Bills would be used by the BJP-led Centre to intimidate and destabilise governments in non-BJP/NDA states.

A section in the Congress and Left had been in favour of joining the panel and not boycotting it, but had eventually gone with the rest of the INDIA bloc.

Former Lok Sabha secretary general P D T Achary earlier told The Indian Express that the Opposition not being part of the panel was “a tricky situation”. “The joint panel consists of members of various parties based on their strength. The Speaker cannot constitute a partial committee. If it has members only from the ruling combine, then we cannot say a full committee has been constituted. It will be an NDA panel, not a parliamentary panel. If it does not have anyone from the key Opposition parties, it will not have any credibility,” he said.