New Delhi: Accusing the BJP of trying to ‘blackmail’ and ‘torture’ chief ministers of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh—Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu—RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has criticised a set of bills to sack ministers in the federal or any state or union territory government, including the Prime Minister and Chief Minister, if they have been jailed for ‘serious criminal charges’ for a month.
He claimed that the Modi govt wants to bring such a law to keep allies, including Kumar and Naidu, on a tight leash. The bill, he said, was a message, particularly before the Bihar election this year. According to him, it was a warning to the Bihar CM that toe the line or be arrested in money laundering cases registered by the Enforcement Directorate and be stripped of power.
“They are bringing this for Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu. It (the bill) has only job… to blackmail. If PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) cases are slapped by Enforcement Directorate… there can be no quick bail. These are torture tactics,” he told reporters.
“Instead of building the country, they are distorting it,” Yadav added.
Reacting on the issue, Trinamool’s Abhishek Banerjee pointed out the ED’s poor conviction rate in cases involving allegations against opposition political leaders.
The controversial bills – a set of three, one each for the federal and state governments, and a third for Jammu and Kashmir – were presented in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Opposition leaders have said the bills will allow the BJP – which they have repeatedly claimed controls federal investigative agencies like the ED – to target and remove chief ministers of states not ruled by it or its allies, causing a government collapse.
“I see it as a completely draconian thing… to call it an ‘anti-corruption measure’ is to pull a veil across the eyes of the people. Tomorrow, you can file any case against a chief minister, have him/her arrested for 30 days without conviction… and he ceases to be a chief minister?” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra warned.
“We are going back to medieval times… when a king could remove anybody at will. There is no concept of what an elected person is. If the king (referring to the PM) doesn’t like your face, he tells the ED to file a case. Then a democratically elected person is wiped out within 30 days,” Rahul Gandhi had said.
The BJP, however, insisted the bill only ensured a fair and functional government for all.
