Congress’ defeat in polls due to its leadership, not EVMs or ‘vote chori’, says Shah
New Delhi: Opposition members walked out of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday after a heated exchange between Union home minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi during a debate on electoral reforms and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The confrontation unfolded as both leaders accused each other of misleading the House on allegations of voter fraud.
Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju criticised the walkout, saying it showed the Opposition’s lack of willingness to engage in discussion and its intent to “waste Parliament’s time.” The dispute intensified when Rahul Gandhi reiterated his allegation that 501 voters were registered at a single house in Haryana. Amit Shah countered by citing the Election Commission’s clarification that the house in question was spread over one acre, occupied by three generations, and lacked an official number—factors that explained the high voter count without indicating fraud. He added that this house-numbering system had existed since Congress governments ruled the state.
Shah stressed that SIR is constitutionally under the Election Commission’s purview, not Parliament’s. He noted that previous SIR exercises were conducted in 1952, 1957, 1961, 1965-66, and 1983-84—all under Congress governments—arguing that raising objections now was politically motivated.
The atmosphere worsened when Gandhi challenged Shah to debate the claims he made in recent press conferences and alleged that Haryana had “19 lakh fake voters.” Shah rebuked him, saying Parliament could not run according to the wishes of a single leader and that Gandhi must show patience if he expected answers. Gandhi called Shah’s response “frightened,” while Shah refused to be “provoked,” accusing the Opposition of trying to create an impression that the government was avoiding discussion.
Responding to allegations of “vote chori,” Shah said he felt compelled to address them after the Congress repeatedly raised such claims during election campaigns. Highlighting electoral results, he noted that since 2014 the BJP-led NDA had won three Lok Sabha elections and 41 state polls, whereas the Congress had won 30 state elections in 11 years. If elections were rigged, Shah asked, how had Congress secured its victories? He argued that the Congress’s losses were due to its leadership, not EVMs or voter list manipulation. Referring to a Delhi court notice involving Sonia Gandhi’s voter registration before obtaining Indian citizenship, he said even this issue had now reached civil courts.
Wednesday marked the second day of the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, following repeated Opposition demands for a focused discussion on the SIR process. The debate ended abruptly with the Opposition’s walkout after the Shah–Rahul confrontation dominated proceedings.
