Congress boycotts ‘BJP’s rubber-stamp JPC’, alleges bid to rewrite Constitution

The Congress on Wednesday sharply attacked the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) formed to examine a set of contentious Bills — including the one that proposes empowering Parliament and state legislatures to remove sitting prime ministers and chief ministers under certain circumstances — calling it a “JPC of the BJP and its B-Team” and a “rubber stamp for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unconstitutional agenda”.

The party, along with several members of the Opposition INDIA bloc, has boycotted the committee, accusing the government of using its numerical strength to subvert parliamentary norms and push through legislation that could upend India’s federal and constitutional framework.

The controversy centres on the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, which, according to critics, could allow Parliament or a state Assembly to remove the prime minister, chief ministers, or cabinet ministers if they are detained or under arrest for more than 30 consecutive days on “serious charges”. The Bill, introduced amid fierce protests last week, is being viewed by opposition parties as a thinly veiled attempt to legitimise political disqualification by executive decree.

BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi was appointed chairperson of the 31-member committee on Wednesday, prompting fresh outrage from the Opposition. In a post on X, Congress whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore said: “This is not a Joint Parliamentary Committee — it’s a JPC of BJP and its B-Team.”

He claimed that of the 31 members, 21 belong to the BJP or its NDA allies such as the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), AIADMK, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party, and the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL).

The remaining 10 members, he said, are from parties “playing both sides”, including the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and AIMIM.

“Again, Jagan proves he is with the BJP/RSS,” Tagore alleged, referring to Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The Opposition’s boycott, Tagore said, represents over 340 MPs from across the INDIA bloc. “The government formed this JPC without consensus or parliamentary ethics. It is a mockery of democracy when the joint Opposition representing the majority of Indians is absent,” he said.

Calling it “a rubber stamp for Modi’s unconstitutional agenda”, Tagore accused the government of using the parliamentary process to rewrite the Constitution without debate.

“Even after being voted out, the VoteChori Modi Sarkar continues to misuse institutions, bulldoze Parliament, and now rewrite the Constitution itself,” he said. “History will remember this as the day BJP tried to formally erase democracy.”

The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill has provoked outrage across party lines and among constitutional experts. The Bill seeks to introduce provisions allowing legislatures to remove top executive functionaries — the prime minister, chief ministers, and cabinet ministers — if they are held in custody beyond 30 days on serious charges of corruption or security-related offences.

While the government has defended the proposal as a measure to ensure “integrity and accountability in public life”, constitutional lawyers and the Opposition argue that it violates the separation of powers and could weaponise the criminal justice system to target political rivals.

Former civil servants and jurists have also questioned the Bill’s compatibility with Article 75 and Article 164 of the Constitution, which establish that the prime minister and chief ministers hold office “during the pleasure” of the President or governor — effectively based on legislative majority, not judicial or executive proceedings.

“This Bill blurs the line between due process and political convenience,” one senior constitutional expert told The Hindu, warning that it could enable temporary detentions to trigger disqualification of elected leaders.

The JPC’s remit also includes examining the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Amendment Bill, both of which the Opposition claims are designed to tighten central control over local administrations and weaken federal autonomy.

Opposition leaders say the government’s decision to club the three measures together for examination by a single JPC — dominated by BJP MPs — betrays a broader strategy to restructure constitutional power balances through committee procedure, rather than open parliamentary debate.

Several INDIA bloc parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, CPI(M) and RJD, have pledged to stay away from the committee, dismissing it as “a foregone conclusion”.

With the ruling BJP and its allies holding a clear majority, the JPC’s report is expected to endorse the government’s line. But the Opposition has signalled plans to challenge the Bill in both Houses and, if enacted, in the Supreme Court, calling it a “constitutional coup through legislative stealth”.

With PTI inputs