Shashi Tharoor differs with Congress again; backs bills to remove PM, CMs as ‘reasonable’

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who has been in the spotlight for not toeing the party line mindlessly, on Wednesday backed the Narendra Modi government’s three bills, which propose to remove PMs, CMs, and ministers from office if they are jailed or detained for 30 days or more on charges that carry a conviction of five years or more. Tharoor, who has had frosty relations with the Congress leadership over the last few months, once again did not go with the party line and said, “On the face of it, it (the bill) seems reasonable and makes sense.”

“As far as I am concerned, I don’t know those Bills well enough to give you a comment. On the face of it, it seems reasonable that anyone who does anything wrong should be liable to punishment and should not be holding a high constitutional office or a political office. I think that makes sense,” Tharoor told news agency ANI.

The Lok Sabha MP also supported the government’s move to send the bills to the joint parliamentary committee for comprehensive deliberations.

Priyanka slams proposed legislation, calls it draconian and undemocratic

Earlier, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took a strong stand against the bill and called it “draconian” and “undemocratic.”

Priyanka, who is an MP from Wayanad, Kerala, told ANI, “I see it as a completely draconian thing, as it goes against everything. To say it is an anti-corruption measure is just to pull a veil across the eyes of the people.” “Tomorrow, you can put any kind of a case on a CM, have him arrested for 30 days without conviction, and he ceases to be a CM. It is absolutely anti-constitutional, undemocratic, and very unfortunate,” she added.

Congress leader KC Venugopal also slammed the Centre over the bills and said, “This is only a diversionary tactic. This is a draconian law. This is not going to be passed by the Parliament. They want to divert attention from electoral fraud and the Bihar Yatra...They are trying to constitutionalise vendetta politics.”

What do the three Bills propose?

The set of three bills tabled on Wednesday provides for mandatory resignation or removal of the prime minister, chief ministers, and ministers at the Centre and in states or Union Territories (UTs), if they have spent 30 consecutive days under arrest or detention on an allegation of committing offences punishable with imprisonment extending to five years or more.

However, they can be subsequently appointed to the same office by President or governor, upon their release from custody.

The Representation of the People’s Act, 1951, provides for the disqualification of members of state legislatures and Parliament if they are convicted with a sentence of two years or more. Convictions for serious offences such as corruption and drug trafficking result in disqualification irrespective of the duration of the sentence. However, conviction takes a lot of time even though special courts have been set up for the trial of elected representatives.

Tharoor’s strained ties with Congress

Tharoor’s relations with Congress have taken a downturn recently though he had come into the crosshairs in 2021, when he joined the G-23, a group of ‘dissenters’, and questioned the leadership of the Gandhi family.

Many Congress leaders expressed their discomfort over his positive comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Operation Sindoor, and when he led the multi-party delegation abroad under Op Sindoor outreach programme.

Tharoor has been denying all talk of a possible switch to the BJP.