We’re building a brand-new studio to bring you bold ground reports, sharp interviews, hard-hitting podcasts, explainers and more. Support Scroll’s studio fund today.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha that propose that the prime minister, chief ministers and other ministers be automatically removed if they stay under arrest for 30 days. This will apply in cases that entail punishment for five years or more.

The three bills are the Constitution 130th Amendment Bill, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Amendment Bill and the Government of Union Territories Amendment Bill. As the first of these is a constitutional amendment, it will need to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The three bills have been sent for scrutiny to a joint parliamentary committee, which has MPs from both ruling and opposition parties.

Stormy scenes ensued when the bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha, with MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party and Trinamool Congress coming close to a scuffle. A war of words had also erupted between Congress MP KC Venugopal and Shah. Read more.

Opposition leaders described the three bills as “draconian” and “destructive” and expressed concern that they could be misused. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the proposed laws were “absolutely anti-constitutional, undemocratic and very unfortunate”.

Congress MP Manish Tewari said that the bills upend the principle that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty. He added that it would change the judicial jurisprudence of Article 21 that grants the fundamental right to life and personal liberty.

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale accused Modi and Shah of seeking “new tricks” to destabilise Opposition-led state governments. “You cannot remove a CM or minister based on mere accusation,” he said. “Arrest by Modi-Shah’s central agencies is not proof of guilt.” Read more.

Israel’s defence ministry has approved a plan to seize control of Gaza City. Defence Minister Israel Katz has authorised calling up around 60,000 reservists to carry it out, a spokesperson said.

The approval of the plan comes even as mediators who have been pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza await an official response from Tel Aviv on their latest proposal.

Tel Aviv had announced on August 8 its plans to take military control of Gaza City. This had marked a significant escalation in its nearly two-year-long war against Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israeli air and ground strikes in Gaza have left over 61,000 dead, and United Nations officials say that a severe blockade that Tel Aviv has enforced has brought the population to the verge of famine. Read more.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training has introduced two new supplementary modules on Operation Sindoor for students from Class 3 to Class 12. The modules claim that the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack was “directly ordered by Pakistan’s military and political leadership”.

The passages add that during India’s military operation after the terrorist attack, the Air Force “took out command and control centres, radars, surface-to-air guided weapons, runways, and hangars” and created “visible gaps that the world saw”.

The two modules are titled “Operation Sindoor – A Saga of Valour” for students in Class 3 to Class 8 and “Operation Sindoor – A Mission of Honour and Bravery” for students in Class 9 to Class 12. They are not part of the standard textbooks but are meant to be used as additional resources. Read more.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our Daily Brief newsletter.

📰 Crime Today News is proudly sponsored by DRYFRUIT & CO – A Brand by eFabby Global LLC

Design & Developed by Yes Mom Hosting