New Delhi: The Lok Sabha witnessed sharp exchanges over electoral reforms and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists during a two-day debate, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah launching a scathing attack on the Opposition.
“Infiltrators cannot decide who will be the Prime Minister and Chief Minister of the country,” he asserted, adding that opposition parties were resisting the process because illegal immigrants formed part of their vote bank. He explained that having one’s name in two places was a common mistake, but allowing such duplication undermined the credibility of elections.
HM Shah declared that the purpose of the SIR was to cleanse electoral rolls by removing duplicate entries and illegal immigrants. The Home Minister also targeted Rahul Gandhi directly, describing his recent remarks as a “journey to protect infiltrators” and warning that such politics endangered the country’s future.
He claimed that Bihar had already given the BJP a clear mandate and predicted that Bengal would follow suit. His comments triggered uproar in the House, with opposition MPs protesting and Rahul Gandhi interrupting to challenge the Home Minister to debate the issues raised in Congress press conferences.
HM Shah retorted that senior leaders should not be interrupted when speaking. When Opposition members staged a walkout, HM Shah turned to border security and highlighted the 2,216 km-long Bangladesh frontier, where he said infiltration was a continuous problem. He warned that if parties like the Trinamool Congress and Congress engaged in “politics of protecting infiltrators,” voters would punish them at the ballot box.
“If you protect the intruder with Rahul Gandhi’s ghuspethiya bachao yatra, you will be wiped out, and the BJP will win again,” he said.
Earlier, responding to demands from the INDIA bloc that elections be conducted using ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and that the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice be included in the Chief Election Commissioner’s appointment committee, HM Shah accused the Congress and its allies of spreading misinformation. He said voter list revisions were not new and had been carried out repeatedly during Congress governments, including under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The debate underscored the widening gulf between the ruling NDA and the INDIA bloc over electoral reforms. While the Election Commission is currently conducting the SIR in 12 states and Union Territories, the Opposition has fiercely criticised the exercise, alleging it disproportionately affects marginalised voters.
HM Shah insisted the government was not avoiding debate, but emphasised that the revision was essential to safeguard democracy and ensure free and fair elections.
(IANS)
