"BJP trying to finish Opposition in garb of new law": Priyanka Chaturvedi on Constitution Amendment Bill

New Delhi [India], August 24 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Sunday criticised the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025, alleging that the BJP is trying to "finish" the Opposition under the guise of this new law.
Hitting out at the BJP over Union Minister Kiren Rijiju's remarks, Chaturvedi accused it of misusing central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) to target opposition leaders, claiming that there are multiple examples of it.
"He needs to be reminded that many people who were accused of corruption, be it Himanta Biswa Sarma or be it Ajit Pawar, the BJP made the accusations, talked so much about it and then made them CM and DCM respectively. There are infinite such examples. There are infinite examples where the ED and CBI, working as B-teams of the BJP, have framed many opposition leaders in false cases, be it Arvind Kejriwal or Hemant Soren..." she said while speaking to ANI.
Referring to the BJP's campaign pitch, she added, "They gave a slogan of 400 paar during the Lok Sabha elections. JP Nadda also talked about One Nation One Party recently. Neither did they complete their slogan nor did they become One Nation One Party. Lok Sabha elections showed them reality... They are trying to finish the opposition in the garb of this new law (130th Constitution Amendment Bill)..."
On Saturday, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju described the Constitution Amendment Bill introduced in Lok Sabha as "revolutionary," saying the Opposition should have welcomed it. He revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had refused an exemption proposed for the office of the PM from its provisions, which entail removal of the prime minister, chief ministers and other ministers if they are jailed for serious offences.
"PM Modi told the cabinet that the recommendation is to keep the prime minister out of this bill, but he did not agree. PM Modi refused to give an exception to the prime minister. The PM is also a citizen, and he should not have special protection. Most of the CMs are from our party. If they do something wrong, they have to leave their position. Ethics should also mean something. The Opposition would have welcomed this bill had they kept ethics at the centre," Rijiju said.
The Constitution Amendment Bill provides for the removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Minister or any other Minister in the central or a state government, if he is arrested and detained in custody on account of serious criminal offences. Two more bills with similar provisions in Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir were also introduced in the Lok Sabha. The three bills will be examined by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Opposition parties have opposed the bills. (ANI)