India proposes law to sack ministers facing criminal charges

NEW DELHI: India’s government introduced a bill on Wednesday to remove top politicians if they are arrested and detained for 30 days, which opponents called a “chilling” bid to crush constitutional safeguards.

Several of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s opponents have faced criminal investigation or trial in recent years, including two state chief ministers last year.

They include Arvind Kejriwal, then chief minister of the capital Delhi, who spent several months in jail on accusations that his administration received kickbacks from the allocation of liquor licenses.

He denied any wrongdoing and characterised the charges as a political witch hunt by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

Jharkhand state Chief Minister Hemant Soren, also from the opposition, was arrested and jailed on corruption charges in February 2024, accusations he also denies. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, who introduced the bill, said the government wanted the “value of ethics to increase”.