Guwahati, November 2: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has renewed his challenge to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying the BJP is ready to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the issue.
Addressing a gathering in Hyderabad on Monday, following the BJP’s ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ march, Shah criticised the Congress’s protests against SIR and accused the party of attempting to protect infiltrators by opposing the removal of their names from electoral rolls.
Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi over the Congress’s mock Parliament, Shah said Gandhi could become Prime Minister in a simulated legislature, but would not be able to secure the position in the real Parliament. He also criticised Gandhi over his foreign visits and alleged that he was not sufficiently engaged with people’s problems.
Shah challenged the Opposition to participate in a special parliamentary session and discuss all allegations related to SIR. He accused opposition parties of disrupting Parliament instead of engaging in a debate.
The Home Minister also rejected Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that 13 crore names had been deleted from electoral rolls. According to Shah, around 6.25 crore voters had shifted residence, 2.8 crore voters had died, one crore entries were duplicates and nearly three crore entries related to people who did not exist.
Shah’s remarks come amid an escalating political confrontation between the BJP and Opposition parties over the electoral roll revision exercise. The Opposition has continued to question the process and raise concerns over the deletion of voters’ names.
