Bills on PM, CM removal: One month gone, Joint Parliamentary Committee set-up stalls over Opposition's boycott

Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, AAP and Shiv Sena (UBT) had announced that they will not join the panel, as the Bills were being used as a 'political weapon'.

New Delhi: The setting up of the Joint Committee of Parliament to examine the contentious Bills for removal of top political executives detained in jail for at least 30 days in a row appears to be a non-starter even after a month, apparently due to the non-cooperation from the Opposition with several parties announcing its boycott.

The members of two Select Committees for examining The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025 are also yet to be announced despite the proposed legislations being referred to the panels in mid-August. The Bill on insolvency was referred to the panel on August 13 and the other one on August 18.

The motion to send the three Bills – the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill and The Union Territories Administration (Amendment) Bill proposing removal of Prime Minister, Chief Minister and union and state ministers – to a Joint Committee were cleared by Lok Sabha on August 20 and a day later in Rajya Sabha.

The number of Lok Sabha MPs will be 21 and Rajya Sabha 10 in the panel, which is mandated to submit its report on the last day of the first week of next Session. If not extended, the deadline is likely to end in the third or fourth week of November as Winter Session is likely to start in November second half.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on September 13 said that no party has written to him about boycotting the joint committee. He said in Bengaluru that he has sought the names of MPs from parties and the joint committee will be set up once he receives the list of names.

The announcement on the members of the committee have not been made so far in the Parliamentary bulletins, amid Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, AAP and Shiv Sena (UBT) announcing that they will not join the panel, as the Bills were being used as a “political weapon”.

There are two views in the Congress on joining the panel but it is likely to go by the larger opposition.

While insisting that it will go by the joint Opposition decision, CPI(M) has voiced its displeasure over some parties rushing to announce the boycott while finding fault with the Congress for not steering discussions on time to take a common stand.

CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby said the Left party will oppose the Bills. "Every party in both Houses of Parliament should show sufficient sagacity and seriousness in coordinating among the Opposition parties. CPI(M) cannot take the leadership due to obvious reasons. Still we are talking to various parties so that we evolve a common strategy," Baby said.