HYDERABAD, Nov 2: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to participate in a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asserting that the government was prepared to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the issue.
Addressing the BJP’s ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ padayatra in Hyderabad, Shah launched a sharp attack on the Congress and the INDIA bloc over their allegations of ‘vote chori’. He dismissed the opposition’s rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday as a ‘Ghuspetiya Bachao’ (Save Infiltrators) gathering.
“Rahul ji, you don’t allow Parliament to function. Be it EVMs, SIR or infiltrators, I challenge you from Hyderabad. We are ready to convene a special session of Parliament. Come for a debate,” Shah said.
He accused Rahul Gandhi of raising constitutional concerns without respecting parliamentary procedures and alleged that the Congress was deliberately disrupting legislative proceedings to avoid discussions on electoral reforms.
Shah claimed that the Congress was opposing SIR to prevent the removal of alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from electoral rolls, arguing that such individuals were being treated as a vote bank by the opposition.
“Should infiltrators be removed from the country or not? Should SIR be conducted or not? The entire Congress and its allies are engaged in stopping SIR because these infiltrators are their vote bank,” he alleged.
Defending the revision exercise, the Home Minister maintained that voting rights should be restricted to Indian citizens and asserted that the BJP would ensure the removal of every ineligible name from electoral rolls.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s claim that around 13 crore voters’ names had been deleted, Shah cited figures which he said included 6.15 crore people who had shifted residences, nearly three crore deceased voters and approximately one crore duplicate entries.
He further alleged that three crore additional entries represented individuals who did not exist and were linked to illegal immigration. Shah insisted that such names must be removed through the electoral verification process.
Questioning the opposition’s argument that the BJP benefited from SIR, he pointed out that the party had also secured victories in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when the exercise was not conducted.
Shah also cited the BJP’s electoral successes in Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam while questioning the Congress’s criticism of the electoral process.
Taking aim at the opposition’s claims regarding Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), he asked why the Congress had accepted election results in states where it emerged victorious, including Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh, but questioned the machines after losing elsewhere.
He accused the party of blaming electoral machinery for its defeats instead of examining its organisational weaknesses.
Referring to a mock Parliament organised by opposition leaders in Delhi, Shah remarked that Rahul Gandhi should have played the role of Prime Minister during the exercise, claiming that his chances of occupying the position in the actual Parliament were negligible.
He also criticised Gandhi’s frequent foreign visits, saying political leaders should devote their time to addressing public concerns and working among people.
The Home Minister contrasted the Congress’s record in government with the performance of the Narendra Modi administration, alleging that the former was responsible for corruption worth Rs 12 lakh crore during its decade in power. He claimed that the Modi government’s 12-year tenure had remained free from corruption allegations.
Shah further targeted the Congress government in Telangana, accusing Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of turning the state into an “ATM for Congress leaders” based in Delhi.
He alleged that the ruling party had failed to fulfil its electoral guarantees in the state, while highlighting the Centre’s decisions on the abrogation of Article 370, construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, abolition of triple talaq and action against terrorism and Naxalism.
He maintained that the BJP alone could prevent corruption and what he described as a conspiracy to sell Telangana, ruling out the BRS and AIMIM as effective alternatives.
Shah also said the Centre was committed to making India drug-free and called for collective efforts to address the problem.
During the padayatra, Shah carried the national flag and was accompanied by Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar and several senior BJP leaders from Telangana.
The march commenced near the statue of Babu Jagjivan Ram and was scheduled to conclude at Mozamjahi Market.
Earlier, Shah arrived at Begumpet Airport on Monday afternoon. Shortly after reaching Hyderabad, he visited the Goddess Bhagya Laxmi temple near Charminar and offered prayers.