India’s government has introduced the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, which would compel the Prime Minister, state chief ministers and cabinet ministers to vacate office if they spend more than 30 days in jail on charges that carry potential sentences exceeding five years. The draft also bars them from discharging official duties while incarcerated but allows a return to office once they secure bail. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a wide-ranging interview on 25 August, argued that the measure closes a legal gap that permits leaders to ‘run governments from jail’ and applies equally to the governing National Democratic Alliance and the opposition. Shah said the bill ‘will be passed’ and claimed several opposition lawmakers support it on moral grounds. Opposition parties dismissed the proposal as politically motivated. Congress legislators, including Udit Raj and Manickam Tagore, said the amendment targets rivals and undermines the constitutional presumption of innocence. RJD’s Manoj Jha warned it seeks to ‘finish both internal and external opposition,’ while NCP MP Supriya Sule contended that existing anti-corruption statutes such as the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act already address the issue. The measure has been sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, but opposition groups have boycotted the panel, raising doubts about prospects for cross-party deliberation as Parliament prepares to take up the amendment in the coming session.