Bill introduced by Amit Shah is a conspiracy to destabilise non-BJP governments: Dipankar Bhattacharya

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Wednesday (August 20, 2025) said that ‘The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025’ introduced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah is a well-planned conspiracy to destabilise non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments in States and obstruct their functioning.

Also Read | No foreign voters in Bihar SIR list; Modi brings divisive agenda: CPI(ML)

Addressing the press in the State capital, Mr. Bhattacharya said the Bill is the death knell for India’s Constitutional federal system and parliamentary democracy.

“According to this Bill, if a Minister is sentenced to five years on any charge and remains in jail for 30 days, he will have to step down from the post. Obviously, the Prime Minister or the BJP ministers will not be sent to jail. This provision is a well-planned conspiracy to destabilise non-BJP governments and not to allow them to function,”Mr. Bhattacharya said.

He further said, “After the misuse of the ED [Enforcement Directorate], the CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation], the NIA [National Investigation Agency] and converting Governor offices into BJP offices, now if this law comes into effect, the existence of non-BJP governments will become almost impossible. Every citizen who believes in democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law should strongly oppose this Bill.”

Mr. Shah today introduced three Bills in the Lok Sabha to provide a legal framework for the removal of the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and Ministers in States and Union Territories who are “arrested and detained in custody on account of serious criminal charges”

Praise for V-P candidate

Mr. Bhattacharya also welcomed the selection of Justice B. Sudershan Reddy for the post of Vice-President by the Opposition asserting that it’s a positive and timely decision.

Praising him, Mr. Bhattacharya explained that Mr. Reddy’s track record in protecting the Constitution and human rights has been remarkable. He added that Mr. Reddy had declared the Salwa Judum campaign in Chhattisgarh as unconstitutional. He also stressed that this country does not need a person associated with the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] ideology.

Speaking about the ongoing ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Bhattacharya said that the march is becoming a mass movement to protect democracy and the Constitution, and is also garnering widespread public support.

Lashing out at the Election Commission (EC), Mr. Bhattacharya said the names of migrant workers are being deleted, citing the excuse of Bangladeshi infiltrators.

“Any leader of Gujarat becomes a voter of Bihar, but the names of Biharis who go to Gujarat to earn money are being deleted. There is also Form 6A for NRIs but no form for the migrant workers of Bihar,”Mr. Bhattacharya said.

He alleged that scams are going on as the names of lakhs of people are found without addresses, and the ECI is calling them homeless voters. Mr. Bhattacharya asked the EC how the verification happened and how it communicated with the voters.

He also flagged the objections raised by the political parties and Booth Level Agents (BLAs), which have been denied by the EC, saying the political parties have registered no such claims.

Attacking the Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the State, the CPI-(ML) leader said that the government has been a burden for twenty years and had to be uprooted from the power.