New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim that around three crore Bangladeshi infiltrators were among the voters categorised as absent during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, has triggered a political confrontation, with BJP and NDA leaders defending the assertion and accusing the Opposition of protecting illegal immigrants, while Opposition leaders have demanded evidence and accountability from the Centre.
Defending the Home Minister’s statement, BJP Jharkhand spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo alleged that illegal immigration had significantly altered the demographic composition of certain regions, particularly Jharkhand.
Speaking to IANS, Deo said the last Census was conducted in 2011 and claimed that substantial demographic changes had been recorded over the decades. He accused the Congress, which was in power at the Centre for several years, of allowing Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingyas to enter the country illegally.
He also alleged that leaders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had welcomed infiltrators to secure electoral support and that illegal immigrants had managed to obtain Aadhaar and voter identity cards with the help of state authorities.
Citing demographic figures, Deo claimed that the proportion of the Santhal tribal community in Jharkhand had declined from 44 per cent in 1951 to 28 per cent in 2011, while the Muslim population had increased from 9 per cent to 23 per cent during the same period.
He argued that the alleged demographic changes reflected the impact of infiltration and questioned the JMM’s opposition to the issue being raised.
Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC also defended the BJP’s position, claiming that the three crore names referred to by Shah were not genuine voters but infiltrators.
She accused the INDIA Bloc of protecting illegal immigrants under the pretext of opposing the SIR exercise and referred to its campaign as a ‘Ghuspethiya Bachao Yatra’ rather than a ‘Vote Bachao Yatra’.
Shaina also questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s stand on the issue, referring to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s alleged acknowledgement of the presence of infiltrators in Hyderabad.
“Why are you scared of SIR? Why are you scared of a real debate? If you are not wrong, then why are you scared?” she asked.
BJP National Spokesperson Guru Prakash said the public had a right to know the identities of those who had been categorised as absent or untraceable in the electoral rolls.
“We need to understand who these three crore people are who are untraceable and absent. Why were they listed in the electoral roll till now? The nation has the right to know,” he said.
He added that any person entering India illegally without valid documentation or identification should be investigated, asserting that the country’s resources rightfully belonged to its citizens.
Congress leader Udit Raj challenged the Home Minister to substantiate his claim with documentary evidence and make the relevant records public.
“If you are claiming that three crore people are there, then show the record; digitise the list. A lot of commotion was raised in Jharkhand, Delhi, Bihar and Bengal that there are infiltrators. How many infiltrators were found in Jharkhand? How many were found in Delhi and Bihar?,” Raj asked.
Questioning the government’s performance, he asked why the Centre had failed to identify and deport the alleged infiltrators despite being in power for nearly 12-and-a-half years.
“If there are infiltrators, then oust them. Nearly one lakh infiltrators were ousted during Dr Manmohan Singh’s rule; you could not even find 3,000. They should resign. All of them are liars,” he alleged.
Samajwadi Party MP, Awadhesh Prasad also questioned Shah’s understanding of the issue, saying the Home Minister did not appear to have accurate information about who qualified as an infiltrator.
“Many fought for the freedom of the country; many are such whose ancestors were buried here. They don’t have the inkling of the real patriots of the nation, who are infiltrators and who are out there to harm the nation, and who fought for the Independence of the nation,” Prasad said.
Congress leader Tewari demanded that Shah disclose the identities and nationalities of those he had described as infiltrators.
“If the Home Minister is claiming that out of the 13 crore names removed from the voter list, three crore belong to infiltrators, then he should make the list of those people public. He should also disclose which countries these people infiltrated from before entering India,” Tewari said.
He further argued that if infiltration had occurred on such a large scale, it would raise serious questions about the functioning of the Union Home Ministry, which is responsible for internal security and border management.
“If infiltration has occurred, then it is the biggest shortcoming of the Home Ministry,” he said.
Shah made the remarks while addressing the BJP’s ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ march in Hyderabad, organised as part of the party’s nationwide campaign against the INDIA Bloc’s opposition to the alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and its criticism of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Home Minister accused the Congress and its allies of attempting to protect Bangladeshi infiltrators by opposing the electoral roll revision exercise. He also described the INDIA bloc’s rally in Delhi on Sunday as a ‘Save the Infiltrators Rally’.
Shah rejected Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that names of 13 crore voters had been deleted during the SIR process. He claimed the figures included approximately 6.25 crore voters who had shifted residences, around three crore deceased voters and nearly one crore cases of duplicate entries. He separately claimed that three crore Bangladeshi infiltrators had been categorised as absent.
(IANS)
