Lok Sabha Clash: Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi Trade Barbs Over Voter Lists
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The debate focused on the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision, which opposition leaders call a tool to delete legitimate voters favoring the BJP. Gandhi challenged Shah on Haryana and Maharashtra irregularities, CCTV deletions, and changes to the Chief Election Commissioner selection process, accusing the government of ‘vote chori.’ Shah defended the revisions as routine removal of duplicates and infiltrators, countered with historical Congress allegations like Nehru’s 1946 win and Indira Gandhi’s Rae Bareli poll, and dismissed Gandhi’s interruptions. Prime Minister Modi later praised Shah’s speech for exposing opposition claims, amid ongoing winter session talks on reforms.
The Lok Sabha saw a fiery confrontation between Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi during a debate on electoral reforms, specifically focusing on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The clash led to a walkout by Opposition members on Wednesday.
The disagreement centered on allegations of voter fraud and manipulation of the electoral lists. Rahul Gandhi claimed there were numerous instances of fake voters, including a specific charge that 501 votes were registered in a single house in Haryana. Amit Shah countered this, stating the Election Commission (EC) had already clarified the Haryana issue. He explained that the house in question was large, covering one acre, and three generations of a family were residing there, making the voters legitimate. Shah also pointed out that the numbering system in that area dated back to a previous Congress government.
Shah argued that Parliament was not the appropriate forum for debating the SIR exercise, as it falls under the constitutional mandate of the independent Election Commission. He reminded the house that similar revisions had been carried out under past Congress governments, including the first one in 1952 under Jawaharlal Nehru.
The confrontation escalated when Rahul Gandhi pressed Shah to debate his recent news conferences and insisted on a government response to his claim of 19 lakh fake voters in Haryana. Shah refused to be provoked, asserting that Parliament would not function based on the demands of a single leader and that he would speak on the subject he chose. He accused the Opposition of lacking patience and attempting to create an impression that the government was avoiding discussion.
Shah dismissed the overall allegations of “vote chori” (vote theft) by pointing to the numerous election victories secured by the BJP-led NDA since 2014, including three Lok Sabha polls and 41 state polls. He questioned how the Congress could have secured their own victories in 30 state polls during the same period if the electoral process was being rigged.
The Home Minister then ridiculed the Congress leadership for their continued electoral losses, suggesting the real reason was their leadership, not the EVMs or voter lists. He also brought up a civil court notice regarding Sonia Gandhi’s voter status before she became an Indian citizen, using it as a counter-allegation of “vote chori.”
Ultimately, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju criticized the Opposition’s walkout, saying it demonstrated they had no interest in a genuine discussion and only wanted to waste Parliament’s time. The debate marked the second day of discussions on electoral reforms, which the Opposition had strongly demanded.
