Union Home Minister Amit Shah challenges Rahul Gandhi's SIR allegations at Haryana rally

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday confronted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls during the concluding rally of the BJP's "Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao" campaign in Karnal, Haryana. Shah asked why the opposition had not raised similar concerns when the party suffered defeats in the 2014 and 2019 general elections, adding that the Congress also lost the 2024 Lok Sabha poll and recent state elections in Haryana and Maharashtra without any SIR exercise in place.

"Rahul Gandhi is frustrated by these defeats and is blaming the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) for them. Rahul Gandhi, where was SIR in 2014, when the Congress suffered a complete defeat? Where was it in 2019, when you lost?" Shah said.

Shah further alleged that the INDIA bloc's planned rally was intended to protect illegal immigrants rather than safeguard voters' rights. He referenced the Haryana Assembly election, recalling that former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other Congress leaders arrived at their party office with sweets, confident of victory, only to be defeated.

"Since the 2024 elections, people across the country have repeatedly voted against Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party in various elections. The first election was held in our Haryana," Shah said.

The rally marked the end of a nationwide campaign that ran from October 22 to November 5, with Shah claiming large crowds demonstrated strong public support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The event also included a padyatra attended by Shah, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and BJP leader Smriti Irani.

The opposition has raised concerns that the SIR process could lead to wrongful deletions from electoral rolls and disenfranchise voters, accusations the BJP has rejected, defending the Election Commission's actions.