Late-night talk of three new bills in Parliament being proposed by home minister Amit Shah on the morrow (now 20 August, Wednesday) gave rise to considerable speculation — and some disgust — from the Opposition.

One among these is the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill — which, per a PTI report, looks to amend section 54 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (34 of 2019) to include a provision for the removal of the chief minister or a minister arrested and detained in custody on account of serious criminal charges, since such a provision did not hitherto exist.

Is this, in fact, the sum total of the matter then? Or is this a red herring?

The other two Bills apparently to be tabled together with this are the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Constitution (One Hundred And Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025 — which, respectively, are meant to update section 45 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (20 of 1963) to allow for the removal of the chief minister or a minister arrested and detained in custody on account of serious criminal charges, and Articles 75, 164 and 239AA of the Constitution in order to create a ‘legal framework’ for the removal of the prime minister or any minister in the union council of ministers or a chief minister or a minister in the council of ministers of states and in the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in similar cases.