Patna: Prashant Kishor, strategist and leader of the Jan Suraj Party, has endorsed the Constitution (130th) Amendment Bill introduced by the Modi government, arguing that leaders facing jail terms should not be allowed to continue in office.
Prashant Kishor, speaking in Purnia, said the bill addresses a gap left by the makers of the constitution who did not anticipate that sitting prime ministers or chief ministers could face criminal charges yet attempt to govern from jail. The proposed law, tabled by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha, seeks to remove prime ministers, chief ministers and ministers who remain in jail for 30 days.
Prashant Kishor said: “If you are sitting in power and have to go to jail on any charge, you cannot run the government by sitting in jail. This bill is fine.” He added that corruption and criminality in politics had reached levels that required new constitutional safeguards.
Opposition parties, however, have strongly criticised the bill. RJD MPs Manoj Jha and Sudhakar Singh alleged that the move is an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party to destabilise state governments and consolidate power. Sudhakar warned that it could usher in “dictatorship” under the guise of reform.
