TDP and JD(U) support the Bills but express reservation about several ‘grey areas’ in the legislations 

Two key National Democratic Alliance partners, the Janata Dal (United) and Telugu Desam Party, expressed support for three Bills that seek to remove the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and Ministers from office if they are “arrested and detained in custody on account of serious criminal charges”, while also underlining reservations about “grey areas” in the legislations. The allies hoped their concerns would be addressed during scrutiny of the Bills in the Parliament’s Joint Committee. 

Home Minister Amit Shah moved the constitutional amendment Bills in the Lok Sabha, along with a resolution to send them to the Parliament’s Joint Committee. According to sources, the allies were neither informed nor consulted about these Bills, which were circulated late on Tuesday night to Lok Sabha members. 

Speaking to The Hindu, the TDP’s Parliamentary Party leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu said that these legislations are in the right direction. Listing out the “coal block allocation, 2G spectrum allocation, AgustaWestland Helicopter procurement and Adarsh Housing scams”, Mr. Devarayalu said, “The country has moved away from the United Progressive Alliance [UPA] era, when such cases made regular headlines. Since 2014, we haven’t had such cases… we may not have perfected the system but we have definitely bettered it. No Chief Minister or Minister should run the administration from jail. These legislations are in the right direction.” At the same time, he said that legislation should not be “misused”. “There are grey areas that need to be addressed and the Bills should be studied at length, which we believe will be done at Parliament’s Joint Committee. We have to ensure that it is not misused,” he said. 

Secretary General and spokesperson of Janata Dal (United) K.C. Tyagi said that the legislation is aimed to ensure probity in public life. “This should be implemented without any bias,” he said. He also rejected the Congress’s claim that these Bills will be used by the government to target its own allies like the JD(U). “No corruption charge has ever been levelled against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. I reject the Congress’s claim that the Bills are aimed at us. They are aimed at the corrupt and there is nothing wrong with it,” he said. 

The government had moved three Bills — 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 the removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, and Ministers of the Centre and State governments if are arrested and detained in custody for 30 consecutive days for offences that attract a jail term of at least five years.