Kapil Sibal questions motive behind bills targeting arrested leaders

Sibal said the intent of bills proposing that a minister, chief minister, or the Prime Minister can lose their position within a month if arrested or detained for 30 days is to target the Opposition

Former Union minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday objected to three contentious bills proposing that a minister, chief minister, or the Prime Minister can lose their position within a month if they are arrested or detained for 30 consecutive days over an offence carrying a jail term of five years or more, saying the intent is to target the Opposition.

Former Union minister Kapil Sibal. (X)

Sibal argued that such bills cannot be passed as the government lacks the two-thirds majority required for constitutional amendments needed for the purpose. He said no such cases had been filed against those in the Union government.

Sibal said that Opposition leaders have been incarcerated for months merely based on first information reports (FIRs). “I want to ask the Union home minister [Amit Shah], was any FIR filed against anyone from the Union government?” said Sibal, a Rajya Sabha member and senior advocate.

He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has since 2014 introduced laws eroding human rights. “Such laws cause termite infestation to the Constitution, and destroy the well-built structure. BJP aims to destroy democracy.”

He referred to the special intensive revision of the electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar and said tens of thousands of names were removed, without adding any. Sibal said the way enumeration forms were being uploaded without any document is also equal to termite infestation in the voters’ list.