‘Vote bachao’ rally was ‘save the infiltrators’ rally: Amit Shah targets Congress over SIR

Shah accuses Congress of protecting infiltrators

‘Vote bachao’ rally was actually ‘save the infiltrators’ rally: Shah

Shah challenges Rahul Gandhi to Parliament debate, takes dig at ‘mock Parliament’

Stepping up his attack on Rahul Gandhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress leader of repeatedly disrupting Parliament and challenged him to take part in a special session to debate the issues surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

"The Constitution's responsibilities are discharged through the country's Parliament, but Rahul ji, you do not allow Parliament to function. I challenge you today from the land of Hyderabad. We are ready to convene a special session of Parliament. Come and participate in a discussion," Shah said.

He alleged that Gandhi would avoid the debate because the Congress relied on creating disorder to remain in the news. Shah added that if Parliament were allowed to function, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would "completely demolish their arguments".

Taking a personal swipe at the Congress leader, Shah referred to the mock Parliament organised by the opposition two days earlier. 

He said Gandhi should have taken on the role of Prime Minister during the exercise, claiming that he would never occupy the position in the real Parliament.

"Rahul ji, listen to me. Two days ago, you held a mock Parliament. If you had asked me, I would have suggested that you become Prime Minister at least once in this mock Parliament without becoming the Leader of the Opposition. Why? Because you will never be able to become Prime Minister in the real Parliament. At least if you become Prime Minister in a mock Parliament, Sonia ji's heart will find some peace," he said.

‘You cannot win elections this way’: Shah to Gandhi

Shah also questioned Gandhi's political engagement, alleging that the Congress leader spent only a few months in India before travelling abroad.

"Rahul ji, you cannot win elections this way. You spend three or four months in the country and then go abroad. You will have to sweat it out in the country. You will have to stand united with the people and work to resolve their problems," the Home Minister said.

Claiming that the BJP had continued its electoral winning streak after the 2024 general elections, Shah said the party had secured victories in Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi and Bihar, and would now win Telangana as well.

"After 2024, we won in Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, Bengal, Assam, and now we are set to win Telangana too," he said.

Shah defends BJP victories, links SIR debate to alleged bogus voting

Returning to the SIR issue, Shah rejected Gandhi's allegation that the BJP's electoral victories were linked to the revision of voter lists. He cited the party's wins in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when, he said, the SIR had not been conducted.

"Rahul ji, put in as much effort as you want; we will ensure that every single infiltrator is removed from the electoral rolls. He says that we won only because of the SIR. I want to ask Rahul ji: In 2014, Modi ji won. There was no SIR then, was there? So, did Modi ji win because of the SIR? He won because of the votes of the people. Modi ji won in 2019 as well. There was no SIR then. Did Modi ji win or not? He won because of the voters of India," Shah said.

He went on to list the BJP's subsequent electoral performances, claiming the party had secured its biggest-ever majorities in Maharashtra and Bihar, won Haryana and returned to power in Delhi after 30 years. 

He also claimed that the Trinamool Congress chief's political standing had been wiped out in West Bengal.

Shah accused the Congress of seeking to influence elections through bogus voting and argued that duplicate entries in electoral rolls should be removed.

"The Congress party wants to capture elections through bogus voting. If one person has two votes, should one of them be cancelled or not?" he said.

He then alleged that three crore votes belonged to people who did not exist, linking the claim to what he described as Bangladeshi infiltrators.

"Now we come to the source of 'Rahul Baba's' stomach ache. Three crore votes are such that the people they belong to do not even exist. These are Bangladeshi infiltrators," Shah said.

(with ANI inputs)