Congress notified Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on October 13 that it will not nominate members to the Joint Parliamentary Committee reviewing the three removal bills. The CPM aligned with the boycott after Congress outreach, consolidating an opposition stance previously signaled by TMC, SP and Shiv Sena (UBT), with AAP indicating support and DMK set to follow the bloc’s majority view. The bills, introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah on August 20, are the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, and the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill. The measures seek automatic removal of a Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and Ministers held under arrest for 30 consecutive days on serious criminal charges. The Lok Sabha had referred the bills to a JPC in August, and government sources say vacancies left by the opposition may be filled by smaller parties or independents, a move critics argue would leave scrutiny to a ruling majority.
