Karnal: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday challenged Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to take up his allegations over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Parliament, saying the Centre was ready to convene a special session to discuss the issue. Addressing a rally organised by the BJP in Haryana’s Karnal as part of its ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ (Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy) campaign, Shah asked Gandhi to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he genuinely wanted a debate. He said the government was prepared to convene a special session and discuss the concerns raised by the Opposition.
“Rahul ji, you challenge Narendra Modi ji to a debate. If you want a discussion, write a letter to him. We are ready to convene a special session of Parliament. We will discuss everything there,” Shah said, calling on the Congress leader to stop spreading what he described as misinformation. Shah said Parliament was the appropriate forum for discussing important national issues and accused the Congress of disrupting proceedings instead of participating in debates.
“If you want a responsible discussion, come to Parliament. If your concerns have truth, evidence and logic, let us face each other and discuss them,” he said, taking a swipe at Gandhi and predicting that the Congress leader would walk out rather than face the government’s arguments. The Home Minister also criticised the Opposition’s street protests, describing them as political demonstrations aimed at creating unrest. He alleged that Rahul Gandhi had made disruptions and walkouts a part of the Congress’s political culture.
Shah said the government was willing to discuss the SIR exercise and other issues raised by the Opposition, provided the request was made through the appropriate parliamentary process. Taking another dig at Rahul Gandhi over allegations against the Election Commission, Shah recalled an incident from his school days involving a Kabaddi match.
He said his seventh-grade team used to defeat a team of ninth-grade students repeatedly. After suffering several defeats, the older team allegedly decided to accuse the referee of cheating. “Just call the referee a cheater, and our victory will be assured,” Shah recalled, using the anecdote to mock the Congress’s allegations against the electoral system. He questioned whether Gandhi was following a similar approach by blaming the Election Commission for the Congress’s electoral defeats. Shah further accused the Congress of repeatedly disrupting Parliament and avoiding discussions on important issues. He said the BJP was prepared to counter the Opposition not only in Parliament and state legislatures but also in villages, fields and on the streets.
The Home Minister also referred to the BJP’s electoral performance since 2024, claiming that the Congress had repeatedly suffered defeats under Gandhi’s leadership. He said voters had given Narendra Modi a third consecutive term as Prime Minister.
Shah led the BJP’s ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ march in Karnal before addressing the gathering. The campaign, conducted from October 22 to November 5, covered BJP offices in around 600 districts across the country, according to the party. The BJP launched the campaign to counter Opposition allegations of irregularities in electoral rolls and claims of ‘vote chori’. The INDIA bloc, meanwhile, has raised concerns over the SIR exercise and demanded accountability from the Election Commission. Shah’s remarks come amid an intensifying political confrontation between the BJP and the Opposition over electoral roll revision, the functioning of the Election Commission and allegations of electoral irregularities.
