Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal accused the Modi government of “weaponising laws” and called it the most “constitutionally immoral” in India’s history. He strongly opposed new bills that propose removal of PM, CMs, and ministers if arrested for 30 days.
New Delhi: The Modi government is facing fresh criticism from Independent Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, who accused it of using laws as weapons to attack the opposition. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Sibal described the present government as the most “constitutionally immoral” in India’s history.
He raised strong objections to the new bills which propose that the prime minister, chief ministers, and ministers will be removed from their posts if they are kept under arrest for 30 consecutive days on serious criminal charges.
According to Sibal, the BJP has introduced these bills because it realises that “the tide has turned” in Bihar and now wants to shift people’s focus towards other issues.
He added,
“You can fool some people sometimes but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
Sibal also referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s reported remarks on the bill.
He stated,
“constitutional morality has nothing to do with their own morality”
and that the BJP only talks about the morality of the opposition while ignoring its own actions.
He further pointed out that not a single minister from the BJP-led governments at the Centre or in states has ever been arrested, while leaders from opposition parties are being targeted one after another by investigative agencies.
Sibal listed out examples of ministers from non-NDA ruled states who had been arrested and later released on bail but continue to face long-pending trials.
He named Delhi’s AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia, Congress leaders P Chidambaram, D K Shivakumar and Alamgir Alam, and JMM leader Hemant Soren among others.
He highlighted that these leaders were
“arrested for over a month and then got bail much later, with the trial not concluding even after years.”
Sibal criticised the way such cases were handled by probe agencies, saying,
“No trial is complete. The home minister knows that when the PMLA and CBI get after them, nobody is granted bail. Even the Supreme Court had remarked – why trial courts are not granting bail. And in the meantime, your political career is destroyed. The whole purpose of these laws is to weaponise laws for destabilising governments of opposition parties.”
He also questioned the timing of the introduction of these bills, pointing out that under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), police custody can now be extended up to 60 or 90 days.
He said,
“Even more surprising is the context in which these bills have been brought, as under the new laws of BNS, police custody could now extend to 60 or 90 days,”
Sibal went on to recall how BJP governments in the past had come to power by engineering defections in opposition-ruled states.
He asked,
“Can the home minister talk about constitutional morality after the way the governments in Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Goa and Madhya Pradesh, among other places, were toppled,”
Reiterating his stance, Sibal concluded,
“I don’t think in the history of India, there has been a government which is more constitutionally immoral than this government.”
Last week, Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three controversial bills in the Lok Sabha — the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2025, the Constitution (One Hundred And Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2025.
The bills propose that if the prime minister, Union ministers, or chief ministers are under arrest and in custody for 30 consecutive days for offences that attract a minimum of five years’ imprisonment, they will automatically lose their positions on the 31st day.
The introduction of these bills saw fierce opposition inside the Lok Sabha, with many MPs tearing copies of the draft law in protest. The House has now referred the three bills to a Joint Committee of Parliament that includes 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha for detailed scrutiny.
Background on the Controversial Removal Bills
The Bills Introduced
On August 2025, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three major bills in the Lok Sabha. These bills propose that if the Prime Minister, Union ministers, or Chief Ministers are arrested and remain in custody for 30 consecutive days on charges that carry a minimum of five years imprisonment, they will automatically lose their positions on the 31st day.
The bills are:
- Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025
- The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025
- The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025
Key Provisions
- Any Prime Minister, CM, or Minister arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days on serious criminal charges will have to vacate office automatically.
- The provision applies only to cases where the alleged offence carries a minimum sentence of at least five years.
- The removal will take effect on the 31st day of custody.
Government’s Justification
- The Centre argues that leaders facing serious criminal charges should not hold high offices of power while under judicial custody.
- Home Minister Amit Shah has said the move is in line with “constitutional morality”, ensuring that governance is not compromised by leaders facing long custody.
Opposition’s Objections
- Opposition MPs, including Kapil Sibal, call this a political weapon to destabilize opposition governments.
- They argue that probe agencies like CBI, ED, and under PMLA laws are often used to target opposition leaders, where bail is difficult and trials are delayed.
- Sibal listed several opposition leaders (Arvind Kejriwal, Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia, P Chidambaram, D K Shivakumar, Hemant Soren, etc.) who were jailed for months without conviction.
- During the introduction, opposition MPs protested fiercely in Parliament, even tearing up copies of the bills.
Current Status
- The three bills have been referred to a Joint Committee of Parliament with 21 members from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha for detailed scrutiny.
- The committee will now examine the constitutional, legal, and political implications before the bills are debated and voted on again.
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