Parliamentary Committee Recommends Suspension of Detained Ministers, Not Removal

Amid concerns from opposition parties, a parliamentary committee has recommended that if the prime minister, union ministers, and chief ministers are detained continuously for 30 days on charges of serious crimes, they should be suspended rather than removed from their posts. The committee has also proposed a mechanism under which the suspension will automatically end if such people are acquitted or the trial does not proceed within the stipulated time. The Joint Committee of Parliament reviewing the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill made two specific and three general recommendations. Introduced in August last year, the bill provides that if the prime minister, minister, or chief minister does not resign by the 31st day of their detention, they will be automatically removed from office. The opposition described the bill as a means to destabilize the governments of the opposing parties. Most opposition parties distanced themselves from the joint committee reviewing the bill. The report is likely to be adopted this week. The committee has suggested that the word'suspension'should be replaced with'removal'from office if the ministers do not resign on the 31st day of their detention.