Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday delivered one of his most combative, sweeping and politically charged speeches in the Lok Sabha, turning a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls into a broader ideological clash with the Congress — and in particular, with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Over the course of a 90-minute address, Shah not only defended the government’s position on electoral reforms but also launched a series of direct attacks on the Congress leadership, prompting sharp interruptions, a brief verbal duel, and eventually a full Opposition walkout.
Despite the uproar, Shah continued uninterrupted, using his time on the House floor to counter allegations of voter list manipulation, challenge the credibility of Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” charges, and issue political warnings to regional parties. Here are the five biggest takeaways from his fiery address:
1. Shah’s Three Instances of ‘Vote Chori’: A Direct Attack on the Nehru-Gandhi Lineage
Amit Shah opened his speech by levelling a dramatic accusation: that “vote chori” — or vote theft — was not a concept introduced by the Congress in 2024–25, but one that, according to him, could be traced back to the political practices of three generations of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
He cited three examples:
Jawaharlal Nehru:
Shah claimed that in the post-Independence leadership contest, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had 28 proposers while Nehru had only two, yet Nehru became Prime Minister. Shah called this “vote chori,” suggesting an unfair political elevation engineered despite numerical disadvantages.
Indira Gandhi:
He accused Indira Gandhi of committing the “second vote theft” by granting herself immunity after the Allahabad High Court famously set aside her election in 1975, an event that precipitated the Emergency. Shah argued that this move was an attempt to override judicial scrutiny.
Sonia Gandhi:
On Sonia Gandhi, he invoked an ongoing civil dispute questioning how she allegedly became a voter before acquiring Indian citizenship — a claim that immediately triggered loud protests from Congress MPs. Shah insisted that the matter raised serious questions, even though it is still before the courts.
With these three examples, Shah attempted to flip the Opposition’s “vote chori” narrative back onto the Congress, framing the party as historically complicit in the very misconduct it is now alleging against the government.
2. ‘I Decide What to Say’: Shah’s Heated Exchange with Rahul Gandhi
Tensions escalated dramatically when Rahul Gandhi interrupted Shah’s speech, demanding a live, in-House debate on the findings of his three recent press conferences alleging voter list fraud and institutional manipulation.
Rahul said loudly:
“Let’s debate my press conferences… Amit Shah ji, I challenge you, let’s have a debate on my three press conferences.”
Shah, visibly irritated, responded with an emphatic assertion of authority:
“I have long experience… I will decide the order of my speech. They should be patient. I will answer every question, but they cannot decide the order of my speech.”
Government benches thumped their desks, while Opposition MPs shouted in protest.
Rahul later told reporters that Shah’s refusal to engage immediately showed he was “defensive and nervous.” Soon after, the Opposition staged a walkout, but Shah continued and used the opportunity to reiterate that the government’s “detect, delete and deport” agenda on illegal immigration would proceed regardless of walkouts or boycotts.
3. ‘The Reason for Congress’ Defeat Is Its Leadership’: Shah on the Party’s Electoral Losses
Shifting from voter lists to electoral politics, Amit Shah launched a pointed critique of the Congress’ recent performance at the ballot box.
He accused the party of refusing to introspect and instead blaming external forces whenever it faced defeat.
According to Shah:
- If journalists question Congress, “they become BJP agents.”
- If a court rules against them, “the judge is blamed.”
- If they lose elections, “they blame EVMs.”
He argued that after the EVM allegations failed to gain traction, Congress switched to “vote chori” as its new narrative, yet “still lost Bihar.” The real cause, Shah insisted, was not machines or manipulation, but leadership failure.
“The real reason for your defeat is your leadership, not the EVM or the voters’ list,” he said, adding that he hoped Congress workers would “one day hold their leaders accountable.”
This line drew sharp reactions from the Opposition before their walkout.
4. Responding to Rahul’s ‘H-Bomb’: Shah Counters the Haryana 501-Votes Claim
One of Rahul Gandhi’s central claims — which he had referred to as dropping an “atomic bomb” during his November 5 press conference — was that 501 votes were registered at a single address in Haryana, which he cited as evidence of large-scale voter roll manipulation.
Shah dismantled the allegation using the Election Commission’s official clarification:
- House No. 265 in question, he said, was a one-acre ancestral property,
- with multiple extended families living there,
- all of whom traditionally use the same shared house number,
- and this system has existed since the Congress government’s tenure in Haryana.
“There is nothing irregular,” Shah affirmed.
“This is not a fake house.”
By presenting the EC’s explanation, Shah accused Rahul of misleading the public with incomplete or sensationalised information.
5. A Warning to TMC and DMK: Oppose SIR at Your Own Risk
Amit Shah concluded his speech with a political warning directed at two major regional parties — the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). He accused them of obstructing the implementation of SIR in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
His message was blunt:
If they continue to oppose the electoral roll revision process,
“they will be wiped out in next year’s assembly elections.”
Tracing the history of SIR, Shah noted that from 1952 to 2004, spanning the governments of Nehru, Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, no party had raised objections to the process.
“No party opposed this process because it keeps elections clean and democracy healthy,” he said.
By framing SIR as a bipartisan standard for decades, Shah attempted to portray the current Opposition objections as politically motivated and unprecedented.
Conclusion
Amit Shah’s Wednesday speech was more than a government explanation of electoral roll revisions. It was a sweeping political offensive aimed simultaneously at discrediting Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, highlighting Congress’ electoral vulnerabilities, reclaiming the narrative on voter list transparency, and warning regional parties ahead of crucial state elections.
The session, marked by interruptions, rebuttals, and an eventual walkout, underscored the growing polarisation in Parliament. While the government portrayed the Opposition’s “vote chori” claims as baseless and historically ironic, the Congress maintained that Shah’s refusal to engage directly with Rahul Gandhi’s challenges revealed nervousness.
As political temperatures rise ahead of national and state-level polls, this confrontation is likely to fuel sharper debates on institutional trust, electoral reforms, and the credibility of competing political narratives in India’s democracy.
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