CM Siddaramaiah: Modi govt has no moral authority to introduce Constitution Amendment Bill

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday criticised the government for introducing the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025, saying that the Modi government has no moral authority to introduce the legislation.

“The Modi government has no moral authority to introduce the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill when its own record is one of systematically misusing institutions”, he said. Siddaramaiah also accused the BJP of weaponising agencies such as CBI, ED against the Opposition.

“From the CBI, ED and Income Tax to Governors and other constitutional authorities, every arm of the state is being weaponised against the Opposition – and there is ample proof of this across the country,” the Chief Minister said. He further alleged that this bill brought by the BJP government is “undemocratic” and “anti-federal”.

The Modi Government has no moral authority to introduce the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill when its own record is one of systematically misusing institutions.

From the CBI, ED and Income Tax to Governors and other constitutional authorities, every arm of the state is being… pic.twitter.com/LidnnWr2Ti

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) August 20, 2025

“Any bill brought by such a government will naturally be viewed with distrust. This is not just undemocratic — it is also deeply anti-federal, because it gives the Centre and its Governors more power to destabilise elected state governments”, Siddaramaiah said. “Instead of bulldozing Parliament with draconian laws, the Modi Government should first restore the autonomy of our constitutional bodies and respect the spirit of federalism,” he added.

On Wednesday, the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025 were referred to the JPC after Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced them in the Lok Sabha today.

Amit Shah said in a post on X that on account of the Modi government’s commitment to restoring moral standards in politics and in view of the public resentment towards the menace, today with the Lok Sabha speaker’s permission, he tabled constitutional amendment bills that will prevent people from holding important constitutional positions like Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or Union or State Minister while in jail.

On account of the Modi government’s commitment to restoring moral standards in politics and in view of the public resentment towards the menace, today with the Lok Sabha speaker’s permission, I tabled constitutional amendment bills that will prevent people from holding important…

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 20, 2025

“The purpose is to elevate the declining moral standards and maintaining integrity in politics. The three bills will bring into effect the following regulations: 1. No person who is arrested and in jail can function as Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or Minister in the Union or State Government. 2. When the Constitution was framed, its makers could not have imagined that in the future, political leaders would refuse to resign on moral grounds even after being arrested”, he said.

“In recent years, the country has witnessed shocking instances where chief ministers or ministers continued to run governments from jail without resigning. 3. The bills also provide that an accused politician must obtain bail within 30 days of arrest. If they fail to secure bail within 30 days, then on the 31st day, either the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister will have to remove them; otherwise, by law, they will cease to remain eligible to function”, he added.

Amit Shah said once granted bail through due legal process, such leaders may be reinstated to their positions. “Now the people of the country need to decide: Is it right for a minister, chief minister, or prime minister to run a government from jail?” he said. (ANI)