Arvind Kejriwal Challenges Amit Shah on Proposed ‘Sack Jailed Ministers’ Law, Sparks Political Firestorm
New Delhi, India – August 25, 2025 – Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal launched a scathing attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the proposed Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, which mandates the removal of ministers, chief ministers, or the Prime Minister jailed for over 30 days on charges carrying a minimum five-year sentence. In a series of posts on X and public statements, Kejriwal questioned the fairness of the law, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of double standards and alleging it could be used to target opposition leaders through false cases. The controversy, reported by The Hindu, NDTV, India Today, and Times of India, has intensified political tensions ahead of crucial state elections, highlighting concerns over constitutional morality, judicial independence, and political vendettas.
Details of Kejriwal’s Critique
Kejriwal’s remarks came hours after Shah defended the bill in an interview with ANI on August 25, 2025, where the Home Minister argued that leaders accused of serious offenses should not govern from jail, citing Kejriwal’s refusal to resign as Delhi CM during his 2024 arrest in the Delhi excise policy case. In response, Kejriwal posed pointed questions on X: “Should a person who includes criminals of serious crimes in his party, gets all their cases dismissed, and makes them ministers, deputy chief ministers, or chief ministers, also be required to resign? How many years of imprisonment should such a person face?” He further asked, “If someone is falsely implicated in a case, sent to jail, and later acquitted, how many years of imprisonment should the minister who falsely implicated him face?” (The Hindu,,).
Kejriwal also defended his decision to run the Delhi government from jail for 160 days in 2024, claiming it outperformed the current BJP-led administration. “Under a political conspiracy, when the central government framed me in a false case and sent me to jail, I ran the government for 160 days from jail. In the last seven months, the BJP government in Delhi has made such a mess that people are now remembering that ‘jail government’—at least then, there were no power cuts, water was supplied, free medicines and mohalla clinic tests were available,” he wrote on X (Indian Express,).
Background of the Proposed Law
The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, along with the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 20, 2025, and referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for scrutiny. The bills propose that any Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or minister arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days for offenses punishable by five years or more be automatically removed from office on the 31st day, regardless of conviction. The President or Governor, depending on jurisdiction, would enforce the removal (News18,).
The legislation was prompted by Kejriwal’s refusal to resign as Delhi CM after his arrest on March 21, 2024, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi excise policy case, followed by a CBI arrest on June 26, 2024. Kejriwal, who spent over five months in custody before securing bail in September 2024, ran the government with his cabinet colleagues’ support, a move Shah criticized as undermining “constitutional morality” (NDTV,,). Tamil Nadu Minister V. Senthil Balaji’s continuation as a minister without portfolio after his 2023 arrest also influenced the bill’s introduction (India Today,).
Shah, speaking at the Manorama News Conclave on August 23, 2025, emphasized that the law applies equally to all parties, including the BJP, and noted that PM Narendra Modi included his own office in the bill to uphold democratic integrity. “If Kejriwal had resigned, there would have been no need for this law,” Shah said, adding, “Do the people of the country want a PM or CM to run the government from jail?” (The Print,,).
Political Reactions and Allegations
The proposed law has sparked fierce opposition, with parties like AAP, Congress, and RJD labeling it “draconian” and “unconstitutional.” Critics argue it risks becoming an “Article 356 through the backdoor,” enabling the Centre to destabilize opposition-ruled state governments by filing false cases through agencies like the ED and CBI (India Today,). Congress supporter Vijay Thottathil posted on X, “Amit Shah knows no case will be initiated against the PM, so this bill is for CMs ruled by his opponents!” (India Today,,).
AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj reinforced Kejriwal’s stance, alleging a BJP conspiracy to “arrest opposition CMs and ministers to disable governments.” He claimed the excise policy case against Kejriwal was fabricated to cripple AAP before the Delhi elections, which the party lost in February 2025 (Indian Express,). RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, on X, called the bill a “fascist move” to suppress dissent, citing his own and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s arrests as examples of targeted persecution (Times of India,).
The BJP countered these claims, with spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla dismissing Kejriwal’s remarks as “deflection.” “During Covid, we worked from home. Now they want ‘Work from Jail’ for the first time in India. Can a CM hold meetings from prison?” Poonawalla asked (Times of India,). Shah, in his ANI interview, accused the opposition of double standards, noting that the Congress-led UPA government in 2013 attempted to protect convicted lawmakers via an ordinance, which was later withdrawn (IndiasNews.net,).
Legal and Constitutional Concerns
Legal experts have raised concerns about the bill’s implications. The Supreme Court, in Kejriwal’s 2024 bail hearing, declined to force his resignation, stating that courts cannot direct elected leaders to step down absent a conviction, as innocence is presumed until proven guilty
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