Amit Shah Hits Back at Rahul Gandhi Over Electoral Roll Revision Row
Union home minister Amit Shah launched a sharp counterattack against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding the controversial electoral roll revision, defending the exercise during a rally.
At a glance
- Union home minister Amit Shah dismissed opposition claims that 13 crore voters were improperly deleted.
- Shah claimed that millions of entries removed were relocated voters, deceased individuals, duplicates, or non-existent voters.
- The home minister accused Congress and its allies of shielding illegal immigrants for political advantage.
Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, marking a major escalation in the ongoing political feud.
Speaking during a foot march in Hyderabad, Shah rejected opposition allegations regarding voter deletions and defended the nationwide verification drive.
Shah defends roll revision and breakdown of deletions
Addressing the controversy surrounding the electoral roll purge, Amit Shah broke down the figures behind the deleted entries. He stated that 6.25 crore voters had relocated, about 3 crore were deceased, and approximately 1 crore were duplicate entries.
Addressing the remaining 3 crore deletions, the home minister claimed those entries belonged to non-existent individuals and described them as illegal infiltrators. He defended the Bharatiya Janata Party's support for the Special Intensive Revision, arguing that duplicate votes and fraudulent entries must be cleared.
Clash over election outcomes and vote banks
The exchange follows a mega rally held by Rahul Gandhi at Ramlila Maidan, where the opposition criticized the electoral roll revision and claimed it influenced past election results.
Countering the claim that Modi's electoral victories relied on the revision, Shah pointed to historical election results from 2014 and 2019, as well as recent state victories where the revision was not a factor. He alleged that the opposition's resistance to the exercise stems from a desire to protect a specific vote bank.
Weighing the dispute over voter list integrity
The sharp exchange highlights a fundamental disagreement between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition over the integrity of the country's voting lists. While the government presents the Special Intensive Revision as a necessary administrative cleanup to remove duplicates and ineligible names, the opposition views it as an exclusionary tactic that threatens legitimate voters.
The political fallout from this clash is expected to shape legislative debates and upcoming campaign strategies across multiple states as parties contest the validity of the voter list updates.
What to watch: Further statements from the opposition INDIA bloc responding to Amit Shah's remarks on the electoral roll revision.
Reporting from: Times of India. Spotted an error? Tell us.
- Amit Shah
- Rahul Gandhi
- Bharatiya Janata Party
- Congress
- Elections
- India
- Politics