Modi slams opposition over corruption, defends new Bill to bar jailed leaders from clinging to posts

Kolkata, Aug 22 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a scathing attack on the opposition INDIA bloc, including the TMC, for allegedly promoting corruption and resisting legislative moves aimed at ensuring probity in public life.

Addressing a political rally at the Dum Dum Central Jail ground on the northern fringe of Kolkata, Modi referred to the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, introduced in Parliament earlier this week, which seeks to bar prime ministers, chief ministers, and ministers from holding office if they remain in jail for 30 days or more.

Citing provisions of the proposed legislation, Modi said, "We decided to bring in a law that provides for dismissing a corrupt chief minister, or even a prime minister, if he or she spends 30 days in jail. But the TMC and Congress began protesting. They even tried to tear up the Bill on the Parliament floor. They are angry and afraid because they know they derive their authority from a mountain of corruption and are scared of facing punishment for their sins." Asking whether such leaders, who throw people’s sentiments and the sanctity of the Constitution to the wind by indulging in shameless corruption, be allowed to retain their chairs, the PM said, “I cannot tolerate such insults to our Constitution and democracy. That’s why I decided to bring this Bill.” In an apparent dig at former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Modi said, "It is a shame that even a chief minister, after going to jail, has run governments from there." Targeting the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Bengal, the PM said, "In Bengal, two TMC ministers, even after going to jail on corruption charges, were not willing to give up their posts. One had wads of cash recovered from an apartment, and the other had assets worth crores of rupees seized by the investigators." He was referring to former state education minister Partha Chatterjee, imprisoned in connection with the teachers' recruitment scam in Bengal, and Jyoti Priya Mallick, the erstwhile food minister who was arrested in the ration distribution fraud case.

"These people trampled the emotions of people who voted for them,” Modi said.

“Those who are arrested on corruption charges, how can they be part of the government and remain in chair? Modi will not allow this," he thundered.

Defending his government's move, Modi asserted that the new Bill was necessary to plug glaring loopholes in the system.

“Under existing laws, if a lowly-ranked government employee is arrested by the police and incarcerated without securing bail within 50 hours, they are automatically suspended from their positions. There are laws to ensure that the lives of low-ranking government officials are torn apart if they spend two days in jail," he said.

"However, no such provisions exist for a minister or a chief minister, or the prime minister. This loophole has allowed some leaders to stoop so low that they attempt to run governments from behind bars," Modi added.

Highlighting his government's record, the Prime Minister said that for the past 11 years, the country has been waging a determined battle against corruption, and a significant step forward in this regard was the introduction of an anti-corruption Bill in the Lok Sabha.

Responding to the Prime Minister’s statement, the Trinamool Congress threw the “hypocrisy” barb back at Modi.

"Big words from someone whose party has 94 MPs facing criminal cases, including 63 with serious charges; whose party welcomed 25 opposition leaders under corruption probe, 23 of whom got a clean chit; whose Cabinet has 28 ministers facing criminal cases, including 19 accused of attempted murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women; whose caged parrot, ED, delivered convictions in only 8 out of 5,892 cases over the last decade" the TMC claimed on X.

The ruling party in West Bengal also alleged that the BJP runs "on an E² Policy: Misusing ECI to disenfranchise voters, weaponising ED to run politically motivated witch-hunts".

"When the first “E” failed, they unleashed the second. The 130th Constitution (Amendment) Bill isn’t about eliminating corruption; it’s about eliminating the opposition,” the TMC claimed. PTI PNT SMY BDC