Amit Shah challenges Rahul Gandhi for SIR debate; Congress announces continuation of Nov 1 protest in Bengaluru

The exchange came amid protests by the INDIA bloc against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR exercise, and a series of counter-mobilisation programmes by the BJP under the slogan 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy'.

The fresh round of sparring came after the INDIA bloc's mega rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1, where Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said Gyanesh Kumar would be removed from his post and jailed, accusing him of facilitating alleged vote theft.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking in Raipur, challenged Gandhi to take the debate to Parliament.

"Congress party has consistently supported unconstitutional governments and parallel parliaments...they also mocked the actual Parliament by setting up a mock parliament and staging a charade of debate. I want to tell you, Rahul Gandhi, that the Narendra Modi government is prepared to discuss every single issue. We are ready to convene a special session to hold discussions on SIR...you have brought Parliament to a standstillyou have effectively held it hostage. Now, allow Parliament to function and engage in a proper debate. The people of this country will then see for themselves who is speaking the truth and who is not," Shah said.

Reacting to the challenge in Delhi, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said, "After the elections, when you will be out of power, we will give a healthy alternative. Its name was to impeach Gyanesh Kumar. I can only say this much; understand its importance. Such programmes happen in democracy. If you don't understand, I can't say anything."

BJP Vice President Ram Madhav, addressing a press conference in Jammu, accused the Congress of spreading "false propaganda" around the SIR exercise to undermine public confidence in democratic institutions. He alleged that the Opposition was attempting to trigger a "Bangladesh- or Nepal-style regime change" by creating unrest.

"Their leaders are clearly saying on TV and on social media that they want to do a Bangladesh-style or Nepal-style regime change. Their intentions are clear: they can't defeat the BJP or Modi ji through democratic elections. That's why they are spreading lies and creating anarchy in the country in whatever way they can. If possible, topple the government through that anarchy," he said.

Defending the exercise, Madhav said, "The ongoing SIR process in the country has been completed in many states, including Jammu and Kashmir, and is still pending in other states. This is a constitutional process. All the accusations the Congress has made about it are completely false."

Dismissing the Congress claim that 13 crore names had been deleted, he said, "Despite campaigning so much, the Congress party couldn't even get one person on stage to say, 'My name was struck off.'" He added that the deletions were due to deaths and migration. "Around 90 lakh people die in India every year... Now, 20 years later, when electoral rolls are cleaned up, the names of deceased people have to be removed."

Madhav also alleged that illegal migrants were being weeded out. "A lot of people have illegally come into India from neighbouring countries. They've settled down in Jammu. Rohingyas have settled here. Such people's names are being removed. Does Congress want infiltrators to have the right to vote in India?" he asked.

Citing electoral history, he said Congress had lost three Lok Sabha elections and 56 Assembly elections between 2014 and 2024. "Gyanesh Kumar wasn't even around back then. How did they lose? So, to cover up their failures, they're blaming the Election Commission, crying foul about stolen votes, and blaming the government -- this is the kind of political game the Congress is playing right now," he said.

Announcing a counter-campaign, Madhav said, "If Congress gathers fifty thousand people from all over the country at Ramlila Maidan just to spread false propaganda, then we will go to 5 lakh villages and tell 100 crore Indian voters that this campaign is fake. Congress is a huge threat to the country's democracy."

Meanwhile, the BJP took to the streets across states under its 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao' programme.

In Rudrapur, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami led a rally at Gandhi Park and accused the Congress of "politics of anarchy and negativity."

"Sometimes they spread anarchy over the SIR issue. Is SIR happening for the first time? They (opposition) are taking out 'nyay yatra'," Dhami said.

"If any party has given birth to corruption, it is Congress. Those who gave birth to corruption are today working to spread anarchy in the country," he added.

He further described the Congress as the "mother of corruption" and accused it of attempting to create unrest in the country.

In Nirmal, Telangana BJP President Ramchander Rao said the party had launched a programme titled 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy.'

"The Congress party is spreading a false narrative over SIR and vote chori. There was huge public participation. We condemn the attitude of the Congress party because the SIR exercise was also conducted during Congress rule. However, when the BJP is conducting it now, they are spreading falsehoods. The SIR is meant only to include genuine voters and remove bogus voters," he said.

In Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar accused Congress of double standards.

"The same Congress that has welcomed SIR in Kerala is protesting against it in Delhi. This double standard, hypocrisy and fraudulent politics must be exposed, and the people of Kerala will expose it. If there is any party in this country that is protecting India, Indian democracy and the Indian Constitution, it is the BJP under the leadership of our leader Narendra Modi Ji," he said.

Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje also criticised Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of not raising the SIR issue seriously in Parliament.

"Rahul Gandhi repeatedly runs away from the Parliament. They didn't even discuss SIR in Parliament. As the LoP, he gets a lot of time to speak in Parliament, but he never speaks seriously in the House... PM Modi became PM thrice by the mandate of the people of the nation. He should work to gain the trust of the people of the nation," she said.

In Patna, Union Minister Chirag Paswan termed Congress stand an act of desperation. "I don't think there can be a greater desperation for power than this. You are pointing fingers at a Prime Minister who has been one of the longest-serving heads of government... Today, you are making the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) an issue. SIR was recently conducted in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections, and you are alleging that we stole votes. Rahul Ji, when was the last time Congress had a Chief Minister in Bihar? When was the last time Congress had a Chief Minister in Uttar Pradesh or West Bengal?"

"You are using SIR as a tool to return to power. Congress's desperation to regain power without undertaking any introspection will not succeed," he added.

The Opposition hit back with its own set of questions.

Ahead of Rahul Gandhi's rally in Sangrur on Wednesday, Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi said, "Throughout the entire previous parliamentary session, we -- led by Rahul Gandhi -- repeatedly demanded a discussion on the SIR issue, but the BJP did not allow even a single day of debate. Today, we reiterate our call for a discussion, yet they never address the core issues; in fact, both Amit Shah and the Prime Minister consistently shy away from participating in parliamentary sessions."

Uttar Pradesh Congress President Aradhana Mishra 'Mona' questioned the differing claims made by Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on voter deletions.

"On one hand, the country's Home Minister is saying that the names of 3 crore infiltrators have been removed, and on the other hand, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh is saying that 1.25 crore names have been wrongly removed from SIR; so whose statement should be believed?" she asked.

"What Rahul Gandhi is saying is that over 13 crore names have been removed across the country in the name of SIR, including in Uttar Pradesh... The incident in Pilibhit has come to light. The case from Mathura has also surfaced; so there has been massive mismanagement in Uttar Pradesh in the name of SIR. Corruption has been done. Names of people who are currently present have been removed from that list," she said.

The Congress has also announced further protests against the SIR.

Karnataka Congress chief BK Hariprasad said the INDIA bloc would organise a demonstration at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, with leaders of the CPI(M), Forward Bloc, Samajwadi Party and Indian Union Muslim League expected to participate.

"In continuation of the protest we had on November 1, the entire INDIA bloc alliance is organising a massive protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru," Hariprasad said, adding that the movement would be extended to districts across Karnataka.

Hariprasad said former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had agreed to participate in the protest, while Chief Minister DK Shivakumar would join after completing his Cabinet meeting. He also said district units had been asked to organise simultaneous demonstrations demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed the BJP's "propaganda has been punctured" after the Ramlila Maidan rally, saying the BJP had spread fear of market losses to defame it.

"In response to Rahul Gandhi ji's appeal, people went shopping in Delhi's markets. Shops in the wholesale markets of Old Delhi opened, and business boomed... The public will protect the right to vote, carry on with business, and demand accountability too. Vote thief, step down from power!" he said.

The claim contrasts with that of the Chamber of Trade & Industry (CTI). CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal said Delhi's trading sector suffered an estimated loss of Rs 10,000-11,000 crore, with around 2.5 lakh shops in 20 to 25 major markets remaining closed.

In Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Neelam Meena convened an all-party meeting at the Election Commission office to discuss the Special Summary Revision (SSR) and KMC elections. BJP leader Shishir Bajoria said the voter list was the party's sole concern.

"Our sole point of concern was the voter list, which is riddled with numerous errors... I am not asking for the entire SIR electoral roll to be scrapped; I am demanding that these types of glaring errors and discrepancies be corrected. After all, everyone knows how these errors came to be -- they were inserted intentionally."

Amid the political face-off, the Election Commission of India issued a clarification to the Chief Electoral Officers of all States/UTs on Form 6. It said no action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, shall be initiated by an Electoral Registration Officer against an elector "merely on the ground that the elector had been included in a previous electoral roll and has submitted Form 6 during the SIR process or afterwards, provided that the elector is not already enrolled in any other Parliamentary or Assembly Constituency and the declaration made is otherwise in accordance with law."

The Commission said some previous electors whose names are missing from the draft roll were hesitant to file Form 6, fearing a false declaration since it states that their name is being included for the first time.

It cited the Delhi High Court's October 14 ruling in Nilotpal Datta & Anr. v. Election Commission of India & Ors., which held such apprehensions to be misplaced, and asked the CEOs to give the clarification wide publicity in local languages.

The SIR controversy has become a major political flashpoint ahead of 2027 Assembly elections, with the Opposition alleging wrongful deletion of voters and the BJP maintaining that the exercise is necessary to ensure clean and accurate electoral rolls. (ANI)