Mumbai: Breaking ranks from the Opposition, the Sharad Pawar-led offshoot of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has said it will be a part of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on bills for the automatic dismissal of chief ministers and ministers who have spent over 30 days in prison on serious charges.
Supriya Sule, a Member of Parliament from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, told reporters Wednesday in Pune that her party was opposed to the bill, and it was essential to be part of the JPC to voice their dissent. This comes after opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), among others, indicated that they will boycott the committee.
Sule said that their opposition to the bill was a symbol of democracy, saying, “Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiran Rijiju spoke to me over the phone. He said a joint parliamentary committee is being formed and asked if our NCP will be a part of it? I discussed the matter with Pawar saheb, and he said we should be part of it because we are opposing the bill.”
She added that it should not be seen as any difference of opinion within the Opposition ranks. “Congress has not contacted us, so there has been no discussion on whether any party will go or not. Neither do I, nor Pawar saheb, nor any NCP leader has been contacted by the Congress, so there is no question of any difference of opinion.”
Earlier this year, the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) differed from the rest of the Opposition on demanding a special parliamentary session to discuss Operation Sindoor. Pawar had said the post-Pahalgam issue was sensitive, and instead of demanding a special session, an all-party meeting with private deliberations would be more productive.
The proposed 130th Amendment Bill, currently under contention, seeks to amend articles of the Constitution that deal with jailed Union and state ministers.
It says that if a minister has been arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days for an alleged offence with a term of at least five years in prison, they will be removed from their office on the advice of the Prime Minister or the concerned chief minister. If the PM or CM does not give these directions, then the minister shall automatically cease to hold office after 30 days in prison. If the PM or CM is arrested in connection with such an offence, then they must resign on the 31st day. The bill, however, says that the ministers can be reappointed upon their release from custody.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)
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