LucknowAugust 25, 2025 07:50 AM IST
First published on: Aug 25, 2025 at 07:50 AM IST
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In a setback for the Opposition unity narrative that was seemingly gaining momentum in the past month over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar and the September 9 Vice-Presidential election, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in joining the Joint Committee of Parliament that will scrutinise three Bills that seek to remove Central and state ministers, including the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers, facing allegations of corruption or serious offences and have been detained for at least 30 days.
The AAP’s decision came on a day when SP president Akhilesh Yadav reiterated his party’s decision to stay away from the Joint Committee. The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC too said Saturday it would not be part of the panel, terming it “a farce”.
Claiming that the Bills were brought by the Centre “to topple governments and to encourage horse-trading”, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, “(Prime Minister) Narendra Modi’s love for the corrupt is as famous throughout the world as Laila-Majnu, Heer-Ranjha, and Romeo-Juliet.” The Bills were “not against corruption”, he added.
Asked why his party was not joining the Joint Committee, Yadav alleged that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was aware of the Bill and hence “freed himself of all charges”.
“We are not in it, we are opposing it. Our CM knew that such a Bill was in the pipeline and thus, he ensured that all cases against him were withdrawn. He also helped withdraw cases against his Deputy CM,” the SP chief alleged.
To emphasise his point, Yadav cited the examples of some SP leaders who are behind bars, alleging that the motive of the three Bills was to pressure Opposition parties and “break them”.
“What happened to Azam Khan, our former MLA Prajapati, Irfan Solanki, Rama Kant Yadav? This government is bringing the Bills just to trouble the Opposition, ignite revolt, and divert attention from ‘vote theft’. That is why we are opposing it,” he said.
On August 20, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill. Amid the Opposition’s vociferous protests, the Bills were referred to the Joint Committee.
While parties such as the Congress and DMK have not yet expressed their opposition to the Joint Committee, the decision of the SP, AAP, and TMC has undermined the Opposition unity narrative that was taking shape. After a long time, all the Opposition parties, once unequivocally part of the INDIA coalition, were seen to be on the same page over the SIR in Bihar. They disrupted proceedings in both Houses of Parliament during the just-concluded Monsoon Session, demanding a discussion on it, and even arrived at a consensus on the candidature of former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy for the Vice-Presidential election.
— With ENS Delhi inputs