Shashi Tharoor differs from Congress line on controversial bills to oust PM, CM

New Delhi: Congress Working Committee member and senior leader Shashi Tharoor has once again made a remark independent of the party line, this time on the controversial ‘disqualification’ bills. Supporting the bills, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said that if someone has committed mistakes, he should not continue as a minister.

"I have not read the bill. My view is not the last word. But I will say that if somebody has made some mistakes, he should not be a minister. This is quite logical. If there is any thought behind it, I have no idea," Tharoor told IANS. 

"If somebody spends 30 days in jail, can he continue to be a minister? This is a matter of common sense... I don't see anything wrong in this," he added.

The three bills propose that the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, or ministers at the Centre and in states/UTs must step down if they remain under arrest or detention for 30 consecutive days in cases involving offences that carry a jail term of five years or more.

While the INDIA bloc and other opposition parties staged strong protests, Tharoor broke ranks and said, "Let the Bill be discussed in detail by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)," adding that scrutiny will clear doubts. The opposition, however, maintained that the legislation was part of a larger agenda to destabilise state governments led by non-BJP parties.

Leaders of the INDIA bloc said the move was aimed at silencing political opponents and undermining democratic institutions.

The controversial bill, piloted by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, proposes that any elected leader, including the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, or Cabinet Ministers, who undergoes imprisonment for 30 consecutive days, will automatically lose office. The government has indicated that after introduction, the bills are likely to be referred to a JPC for detailed examination.

(With inputs from IANS)