Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday launched a fresh attack on the Congress over its opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the party was attempting to protect illegal Bangladeshi immigrants for political gains.
His remarks came a day after the INDIA bloc organised a major protest rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan under the banner of ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’. The opposition parties demanded accountability from the Election Commission and raised concerns over alleged irregularities in the voter-list revision process.
Addressing a political gathering in Hyderabad, Shah rejected the opposition’s criticism of SIR and questioned why the Congress was resisting the removal of duplicate and allegedly ineligible voters.
Amit Shah questions Congress’s opposition to SIR
Shah claimed that around 13 crore names had been removed or identified during the electoral roll revision process. Explaining the figures, he said approximately 6.25 crore voters had shifted their residences, nearly three crore were deceased, and around one crore entries were duplicates.
He further alleged that the remaining three crore entries represented illegal Bangladeshi immigrants who did not exist as genuine voters.
The Home Minister accused the Congress of attempting to influence elections through bogus voting and alleged that the party was opposing SIR because it feared losing an alleged vote bank.
Shah reiterated that only Indian citizens are entitled to vote and maintained that electoral rolls must be free from duplicate and ineligible entries. He also challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to debate issues concerning SIR, electronic voting machines and electoral reforms.
BJP launches counter-campaign against opposition
The BJP has intensified its campaign in support of SIR following the opposition’s November 1 rally in Delhi.
Shah led a ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ march in Hyderabad, accompanied by several BJP leaders and party workers. The march was organised to counter the opposition’s allegations and defend the voter-list revision exercise.
The BJP has maintained that the revision is necessary to identify discrepancies in electoral rolls and ensure that elections are conducted with genuine voter participation.
Congress raises concerns over voter rights
The Congress and other INDIA bloc parties have strongly criticised the SIR process, alleging that it could result in the removal of eligible voters from electoral rolls.
At the Ramlila Maidan rally, opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and other alliance representatives, questioned the Election Commission’s functioning and demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the revision exercise was undermining democratic rights and called for greater accountability in the electoral process. Opposition leaders also demanded that the exercise be reviewed and that safeguards be introduced to prevent eligible citizens from losing their voting rights.
The opposition has pointed to instances of voters allegedly being left out of electoral rolls despite possessing valid documents. It has also questioned the transparency of the deletion and verification procedures.
Election Commission’s position and growing political confrontation
The Election Commission has defended the revision exercise, maintaining that electoral registration authorities have the legal responsibility to verify voter details and remove duplicate or ineligible entries. It has also stated that individuals whose names are wrongly deleted can apply for re-enrolment.
The dispute has attracted wider attention, with questions being raised over the scale of voter deletions, verification procedures and the protection of eligible voters.
With the BJP defending SIR as an essential electoral exercise and the Congress-led opposition demanding greater transparency, the issue has emerged as a major political flashpoint.
The debate is now centred on two key concerns: ensuring that electoral rolls contain only eligible voters while protecting every Indian citizen’s constitutional right to vote.
