Eye on delimitation Bill, Government puts draft law seeking removal of ‘tainted’ ministers on backburner

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 17, 2026 10:08 PM IST

Sources said the BJP has made the rollout of the Women’s Reservation law and the Delimitation Bill its “priority” and does not want “other contentious Bills” to be pushed in the Monsoon Session beginning Monday. (File Photo)

Focused on gathering the required majority for clearing the Constitution (131st Amendment Bill) for implementing the Women’s Reservation law and the Delimitation Bill, the BJP-led Union government is not likely to bring the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill that seeks to remove ministers arrested for serious offences for 30 consecutive days, sources said.

Sources said the BJP has made the rollout of the Women’s Reservation law and the Delimitation Bill its “priority” and does not want “other contentious Bills” to be pushed in the Monsoon Session beginning Monday.

“Securing a two-thirds majority for the women’s quota law and the delimitation Bill is the top priority as of now,” said a senior BJP MP.

According to the sources, Opposition parties such as the DMK and the NCP(SP), with which the BJP has been in discussion for a favourable stand on the Delimitation Bill, have conveyed to the government that they cannot support the contentious Bill.

On Friday, the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill was expected to adopt the report but deferred it, The Indian Express has learnt. Sources in the NDA said even the TDP had reservations on some clauses in the Bill.

In the Committee meeting, its chairperson, BJP’s Aparajita Sarangi, is learnt to have agreed to wider consultations on the contentious clauses. “The committee wants to get the Opposition also on board for adopting the report unanimously. So, the chairperson was keen to give more time,” said a source in the BJP.

It is learnt that the Opposition MPs in the House panel — AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi and NCP(SP)’s Supriya Sule — and YSRCP’s Niranjan Reddy were prepared to give a dissent note to the report but dropped it as the committee was ready for a wider consultation.

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Most members of the panel from the Opposition, including the Congress, boycotted the proceedings, arguing that their participation was pointless as the ruling party would override their concerns and use the panel as a rubber stamp to clear the Bill.

The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025 provides for the removal of a minister if he/she is accused of an offence punishable with five or more years of imprisonment and has been arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days. The removal, according to the proposed Bill, can be directed by the President or Governor upon the advice of the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister, or automatically on the 31st day of detention.

It is learnt that during Friday’s meeting, many members raised their apprehension over replacing the word “removal” with “suspension” — a suggestion that came during the consultation with the different parties and premier law universities — as it may dilute the purpose of the Bill.

Although allies like the TDP have backed the Bill, saying the proposed legislation could strengthen the institutional mechanism for combating corruption involving people holding high offices and bring in accountability, it also wants provisions preventing misuse of the law to be incorporated, sources said.

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The final report is expected to incorporate the suggestions from the panel members for avoiding any misuse of the law. The committee is also expected to recommend curbs or a threshold regarding the nature of the crime for the provisions of the proposed law to apply. But the ruling party members in the panel are learnt to have rejected the Opposition’s argument that the provisions in the proposed law are undemocratic, anti-federal and contradict the bedrock principle of natural justice by punishing public representatives purely based on custody rather than conviction.

Have been in journalism covering national politics for 23 years. Have covered six consecutive Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls in almost all the states. Currently writes on ruling BJP. Always loves to understand what's cooking in the national politics (And ventures into the act only in kitchen at home).  ... Read More