New Delhi, Dec 11 – In a sharp exchange in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha MP Gulam Ali Khatana of the BJP slammed Rahul Gandhi, saying the Congress leader kept bringing a “negative” attitude to the debate on election‑reform talks.
The opposition has been insisting that the Special Intensive Review of electoral rolls in 12 states and union territories be stopped, claiming that the Centre and the Election Commission of India are “colluding” to enable “vote theft”.
During his interview with LatestNewsX, Khatana dismissed those accusations and went straight after Gandhi. “He is always negative; he doesn’t see anything positive. What could be more positive than SIR? It’s a very good step. This is a big country, not a country of scams like 2G or coal. We are on the path to becoming a big power country, unlike a corrupt country. Only the people of the country should be able to vote. How can someone from outside come and vote here?” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Home Minister Amit Shah accused the opposition of hypocrisy, noting that they routinely question inaccuracies in voter lists but object when steps are taken to correct them. He warned that the opposition’s “double standards” would not alter the outcome.
Shah also criticized Rahul Gandhi’s repeated press briefings on voter rolls, one of which he called a “Hydrogen Bomb”, and accused the leader of talking about “vote chori” while certain families—clearly alluding to the Nehru‑Gandhi clan—had been “generational vote chors”.
When Gandhi interrupted that remark, he demanded that the Home Minister explain why Election Commissioners are granted immunity for actions during their tenure. Gandhi accused Shah of cherry‑picking from his own remarks and challenged him to a debate. Shah replied that Rahul Gandhi had no right to dictate the order of his speech.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh also took a hard line on Gandhi, calling his parliamentary style a “hit‑and‑run” approach and criticizing the opposition’s walkout during Wednesday’s session. Speaking again to LatestNewsX, Singh said, “Rahul Gandhi follows a hit‑and‑run approach. He says he will speak at his time; people do listen to him then, but when the Prime Minister and Home Minister speak, he walks out. This is his idea of democracy – he lacks the patience to hear the truth.”
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