Three Congress allies, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), the Samajwadi Party, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have decided not to join the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) set to examine the three bills introduced by the central government in the Lok Sabha on 20th August. While the INDI Alliance parties are opposing the bill related to removing PM and CMs accused of crimes, and had disrupted parliament over it, they are distancing themselves from the JPC.
The three bills – the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025, propose that a sitting minister, chief minister or even the Prime Minister will be removed from office if they are arrested and detained in custody for 30 consecutive days for an offence that carries a jail term of five years or more.
The parties have refused to be a part of the JPC by rejecting the bills as unconstitutional, and part of the ruling BJP’s conspiracy to throttle the opposition. The decision of the three opposition parties stands in contrast with the stance by other INDI Alliance parties, including the Congress, which have been in favour of the bills being examined by the JPC. The move comes as a setback to the efforts of the opposition’s alliance to put up a unified front against the bills.
After three allies refusing to join the JPC, now it is not confirmed whether Congress party will join the committee, even though it was in favour of discussions at the JPC. The party leadership will have to decide now whether to give priority to opposition unity or will it stick to its original plan.
This is a unconstitutional bill to put opposition leaders in jail: AAP
The AAP announced that it will not be joining the Joint Parliamentary Committee, to scrutinise the bill. Terming the bills as ‘unconstitutional’, AAP leader Sanjay Singh accused the government of introducing the bill with the motive of putting the opposition leaders behind the bars. “The Modi government is bringing a bill that is unconstitutional. The purpose of this bill is to put opposition leaders in jail and topple the governments of opposition parties,” said Singh.
मोदी सरकार एक ग़ैर संवैधानिक बिल लेकर आ रही है। इस बिल का मक़सद विपक्ष के नेताओं को जेल में डालना और विपक्षी दलों की सरकारें गिराना है। इस बिल का मकसद देश में लोकतंत्र को खत्म करने का है।
इस बिल के लिए सरकार द्वारा जो JPC बनाई जा रही है, उसमें आम आदमी पार्टी शामिल नहीं होगी। इस… pic.twitter.com/izg2A9MqDh— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) August 24, 2025
“The purpose of this bill is to end democracy in the country. The JPC that the government is forming for this bill will not include the Aam Aadmi Party. The purpose of this bill is not to end corruption because the BJP loves corruption and the corrupt,” he added.
The JPC is an exercise in futility: TMC
In a blog post, senior TMC leader and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien informed about his party’s decision not to nominate a member to the JPC. Calling the JPC a ‘farce’, O’Brien wrote, “The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and the Samajwadi Party (SP), the second largest Opposition parties in Parliament, decided not to nominate any of its members to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) being proposed to examine the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, calling the committee a ‘farce’.
Describing the idea of a JPC as “an exercise in futility”, O’Brien listed three reasons behind his party’s decision not to join the committee. Firstly, he said that the chairperson of the committee is jointly decided by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, and the committee’s members are nominated by all the parties in proportion to their strength. This, according to the Rajya Sabha MP, skews the committee in favour of the ruling party due to its large number in the Parliament.
Secondly, he said, the committee fails to reach a consensus on the final report and the amendments proposed by the opposition members are defeated by the ruling majority. And lastly, O’Brien alleged that JPCs, which were originally “democratic and well-intentioned mechanisms”, have lost their purpose since the BJP came to power in 2014. Terming the bills introduced by the government as “unconstitutional”, the TMC accused the Modi government of pushing to form the JPC to distract from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which the opposition has been vehemently opposing.
TMC Supremo, Mamata Banerjee, also opposed the bills at the time of the introduction of the bills in the Lok Sabha, calling them a ‘draconian step’.
The bills go against India’s federal structure: SP
Speaking to the Times of India, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav also announced his decision to align with the TMC. “SP stands with Mamata Banerjee and the TMC on the issue of not being a part of the JPC,” Yadav reportedly said. He claimed that the idea of the faulty as Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who tabled the bill in the Lok Sabha, has said many times that he was falsely implicated in criminal cases.
“The very idea of the bill is flawed because the person who has moved the bill (Home Minister Shah) had, on several occasions in the past, cited his own case to claim that he was falsely implicated in criminal cases. It means anyone can be framed for criminal offences. So, what is the point of the bill then?” Yadav added.
Criticising the bills, Yadav said that ministers would bypass the legislation by withdrawing cases filed against them in their respective states. “Like it has happened in UP, CMs will be able to withdraw criminal cases filed against them in their respective states, and the Centre will have no control because law and order is primarily a state subject. Centre will only be able to handle cases filed by central agencies like CBI, ED and the likes,” Yadav claimed.
The bills were introduced by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah amid a huge ruckus created by opposition parties in the Lok Sabha. Copies of the draft laws were torn and flung by members of the opposition. Some TMC MPs even charged towards Shah when he tabled the bills. Subsequently, a resolution was passed in both houses to refer the bills to a JPC comprising 31 members, 21 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. The committee will submit its report in the Winter Session.