Friends of corruption opposing efforts to bring morality in politics: BJP on bills for removing PM, CMs

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) The BJP on Monday slammed the opposition for objecting to three bills for the removal of prime minister, chief ministers and ministers if they are under arrest for 30 consecutive days on serious charges, saying "friends of corruption" are opposing the government's effort to bring morality in politics.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the three bills brought by the Narendra Modi government aim to bring in "morality, clean politics, and good governance".

These can serve as a "weapon or a tool" to effectively fight against corruption and criminalisation in politics, he said.

"The entire country is welcoming these bills. A handful of opposition parties are saying they are with shamelessness, not morality. They are saying they are with their family, not with propriety and principles in politics... These 'bhrastachar ke yaar' (friends of corruption) are opposing the bills," he charged.

Lashing out at the opposition parties over their stand against the bills, Poonwalla called them a "bandwagon of corrupts" and alleged that they have come together to protect "corruption" in the name of saving democracy and the Constitution.

"You are not protecting democracy. You are protecting the corruption committed by your family," he charged.

He criticised the TMC, SP and AAP for boycotting the proceedings of the Joint Committee of Parliament that will review the bills, saying it reflects their “corruption-supporting mindset”.

“During COVID, everyone was working from home. Is the country now expected to see a 'Work From Jail' concept? Will chief ministers work from inside prison? Will cabinet meetings be held within jail premises?” he asked.

Poonawalla said the principle of morality stems from the vision of the Constituent Assembly, when stalwarts like KM Munshi hoped that politics would always stand on the foundation of ethics.

“They believed leaders would follow the example of Lal Bahadur Shastri, who resigned merely on the basis of an allegation; or leaders like Lal Krishna Advani and Madan Lal Khurana, who stepped down even when faced with minor charges; or like Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, who resigned even before being sent to jail,” he said.

The BJP spokesperson demanded that the opposition parties must tell the people of the country clearly which side of morality they stand on.

“Do they stand with the unwavering integrity and honesty of Lal Bahadur Shastri ji and Lal Krishna Advani ji, or with the shamelessness of Senthil Balaji (ex-Tamil Nadu minister) and Arvind Kejriwal, who holds the unique record of running (Delhi) government from Tihar for 150 days and?” he asked.

Last Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced in the Lok Sabha three Bills for the removal of prime minister, chief ministers, and ministers if they are under arrest for 30 consecutive days on serious charges, drawing fierce protests from opposition MPs who tore up copies of the draft law and marched close to his seat shouting slogans.

The bills were sent by the House to a Joint Committee of Parliament comprising 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha for scrutiny. The committee, whose members will soon be named, has been asked to submit its report to the House by the last day of the first week of the next session, expected in the third week of November.

The opposition parties are up in arms against three bills, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleging on Sunday that after "vote chori", the BJP was now engaged in "satta chori" by bringing the draft bills to "topple opposition governments within 30 days" and "destabilise" democracy by using arrest as a weapon.

The Congress president also claimed that the bills take away the right of citizens to form or remove their elected government and give that power to institutions like the ED and CBI.

The Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party have already said they will not nominate anyone to represent the party in the Joint Committee of Parliament. Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday announced that it will also not participate in the committee's meetings.

Hitting back at the Congress, the BJP spokesperson said, “These are the very people who claim to teach the nation about democracy while being the political heirs of the Emergency era. They talk about safeguarding democracy, but their true intent is to safeguard their own children’s names and political future.” Fifty years ago, the Congress government amended the Constitution just to protect then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi after she was convicted of “electoral fraud”, he said.

“In contrast, the Modi government believes that if allegations are made against the prime minister and he has to spend 30 days in jail, he too would step down,” he said, adding, “This is the stark difference between the Congress’ shamelessness and Modi Ji’s integrity.” He attacked the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) for boycotting the Joint Committee of Parliament.

Instead of boycotting corruption and crime, leaders of these parties are busy boycotting everything associated with the honour and dignity of the nation, he charged. PTI PK PK RT RT