Congress and Opposition Parties Boycott Parliamentary Committee on Bills to Remove Arrested Officials

New Delhi:

Congress has officially informed Union Minister Kiren Rijiju that it will not participate in the joint committee of Parliament examining three controversial Bills. Party sources confirmed on Monday that Congress, alongside other opposition parties, has unanimously decided to boycott the committee.

These Bills propose the removal of top government officials who remain under arrest for 30 consecutive days on serious charges. The decision was directly communicated to the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister.

Several opposition parties had previously announced their non-participation, including the Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Aam Aadmi Party. The Samajwadi Party also indicated support for a unified opposition stance against joining the panel.

Last month, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla noted that no political party had formally submitted written communication about boycotting the joint parliamentary committee. "On the issue of JPC, no political party has communicated to me in writing on this subject," Birla stated to reporters.

During the final day of the Monsoon Session, Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three Bills in the Lok Sabha: the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, the Constitution (One Hundred And Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill.

The proposed legislation would enable the removal of the prime minister, chief ministers, and ministers who are arrested for 30 consecutive days on serious charges.

The entire opposition strongly protested against these Bills, arguing they are unconstitutional and designed to target opposition leaders currently governing different states.

The Lok Sabha referred these Bills to a joint committee of Parliament for thorough examination. This committee is planned to include 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha, though it has not yet been constituted.