Morality changed due to three election losses : Rahul Gandhi’s bill to fire the imprisoned PM and CMs angers Amit Shah

Rahul Gandhi, a Congress MP and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was questioned by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday about his moral character and whether it had changed after losing three straight elections.

Referring to a 2013 incident, Shah said that Rahul Gandhi had ‘torn’ an ordinance brought by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to benefit RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, and questioned as to why the Congress leader was now opposing the ‘criminal netas’ bill.

The ordinance that Manmohan Singh brought to safeguard Lalu Ji was torn by Rahul Ji; why? What occurred now if morals existed that day? Only because you’ve lost three elections in a row? Election success or failure has nothing to do with moral standards. They should be steady like the Sun and the Moon,” Shah said in an interview with news agency ANI.

Shah was referring to a legislation that, following Lalu Prasad Yadav’s conviction in the Fodder Scam case, granted convicted parliamentarians a three-month reprieve to keep their seats. The Supreme Court’s ruling disqualifying convicted MPs and MLAs was essentially overturned by the ordinance, which was eventually revoked.

Shah questioned whether it was “fair” for anyone in any of these constitutional positions to be able to lead the government from prison. Shah was speaking about the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, which aims to remove any Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or Minister who has been detained for 30 days in a row.

“There are more NDA CMs in this country now. The PM belongs to the NDA as well. Therefore, the opposition is not the only ones who have concerns about this law. This also begs the question for our CMs. A 30-day bail provision is in place. If it is a fake type of case, then the country’s High Court and Supreme Court are not sitting with their eyes closed. The High Court and Supreme Court have the right to grant bail in any case. If bail is not granted, then you will have to leave the post. I want to ask the people of the country and the Opposition, can a Chief Minister, a Prime Minister or a minister run their government from the jail?

He also questioned if it would be appropriate for the nation’s prime minister or a chief minister to lead the government while incarcerated.

“There is currently no doubt about that since Narendra Modi is present. However, if the nation’s prime minister is imprisoned, do you believe that the chief minister or prime minister should lead the government from behind bars? Does this nation hold the belief that it cannot function without the individual holding the position? Your party has the majority, so someone from your party will come and run the government,” Shah said.

“You have to go there when you get bail,” he continued. After two years, why should we no longer be members of Parliament? A clause in the Congress regulation stated that your membership would automatically terminate if the Sessions Court issued an order of incarceration lasting longer than two years.

“The very next day, I resigned”: Shah

Shah also remembered that the day after the Central Bureau of Investigation invited him to testify in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, he quit.

Additionally, he stated that until his innocence was established, he had no constitutional position.

“I quit the very following day after receiving the summons from CBI. Later, I was taken into custody. As the investigation progressed, it was decided that I am totally innocent and that this was a political vendetta. I was given bail earlier, and that ruling came later. I never took the oath of office as Home Minister again, even at that time. Not only this, I did not take oath for any constitutional post until all the charges against me were completely quashed. What lessons on morality is the opposition teaching me?” Amit Shah said.

The opposition, he claimed, wanted to “run the government from jail”.

He claimed that the opposition attempted to defend the prime minister under former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and that they are still doing so today, claiming that they can easily establish a government if any of the leaders of the India bloc are imprisoned.

“The jail will be made CM House, PM House and the DGP, Chief Secretary, Cabinet Secretary or Home Secretary will take orders from the jail, Can a country be run this way?” Shah enquired.

During the monsoon session of Parliament, Amit Shah introduced the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtyth Amendment) Bill, 2025, and a bill to alter the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The Parliament’s joint committee received all three legislation.

If the arrested leader does not resign, the position will automatically become vacant after 31 days in the event of the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, which calls for the dismissal of the prime minister, chief minister, or any other minister incarcerated for 30 consecutive days. The bill offers some flexibility by permitting the re-appointment after release.

The position will automatically become empty after 31 days if the arrested leader does not step down in the case of the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, which calls for the dismissal of the prime minister, chief minister, or any other minister who has been held for 30 consecutive days. There is some flexibility in the measure because it permits re-appointment after release.