Congress’ defeat in polls due to its leadership, not EVMs or ‘vote chori’: Amit Shah

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday mounted a robust defence of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the Lok Sabha, accusing the opposition of politicizing the issue because they can no longer rely on “corrupt practices” to win elections.
Shah asserted that the Congress party’s repeated electoral defeats are a result of poor leadership, not electronic voting machines (EVMs) or alleged “vote chori” (vote theft), and stressed that SIR is essential to maintaining the integrity of India’s democracy.
During a 90-minute intervention in a debate on election reforms, Shah claimed that the opposition is raising the SIR issue to retain “avaidh ghuspathiye” (illegal immigrants) in voter lists.
He said the NDA government’s policy is clear: detect illegal immigrants, delete their names from the voters’ list, and deport them. Shah accused opposition leaders of attempting to tarnish the image of the government while actually undermining India’s democratic process.
He cited the BJP’s victory in Bihar, where SIR was conducted prior to elections, as evidence that the exercise strengthens electoral integrity and counters unlawful influence.
The session witnessed heated exchanges between Shah and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Gandhi challenged the home minister to debate his three press conferences on alleged “vote chori,” leading to interruptions and eventual walkout by opposition MPs.
Shah, however, refused to alter the sequence of his speech and maintained that the NDA would continue its “detect, delete, and deport” policy regardless of the opposition’s boycott.
He emphasized that the opposition seeks to normalize illegal immigrants in the electoral rolls, and this threatens the fairness of elections.
Shah cited historical instances of alleged “vote chori” by Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Sonia Gandhi to underline his point that electoral malpractice is not new.
He claimed that Nehru became prime minister despite limited support, Indira Gandhi granted herself immunity after her election was annulled, and Sonia Gandhi allegedly became a voter before acquiring Indian citizenship.
Shah contended that Congress’ losses are due to leadership failures rather than EVMs or voter lists.
Shah noted that SIR has been conducted consistently between 1952 and 2004 under various governments, including Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh, and no party opposed it because it ensures fair elections.
He said the SIR process updates voter rolls by removing deceased voters, adding those who have turned 18, and deleting foreign nationals.
Shah warned TMC and DMK that opposition to SIR in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu could lead to electoral defeats.
Shah also defended EVMs, stating that Congress only began questioning them after the 2014 elections, despite winning in 2004 and 2009 using the machines.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad added that if the government can be trusted with nuclear authority, it can be trusted to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner.
Opposition leaders, including K C Venugopal, Satabdi Roy, and Asaduddin Owaisi, criticized SIR as politically motivated, with Owaisi calling it a “backdoor NRC” to selectively disenfranchise citizens. Shah countered that SIR falls under the Election Commission’s jurisdiction and accused opposition parties of spreading falsehoods for four months to mislead the public.
Shah concluded that the BJP and NDA have consistently engaged in parliamentary debate on reforms, while the opposition has focused on SIR to deflect attention from its electoral failures.
He stressed that SIR is a vital tool to ensure credible elections and protect democracy from manipulation. (PTI)