New Delhi, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday for a “remarkable” address in Parliament, where Shah rebuffed opposition accusations about the electoral system and responded to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s claim of “vote theft.”
On X, Modi highlighted that Shah had “offered concrete facts” to counter concerns from the opposition over the voting process, emphasizing the strength of India’s democratic institutions and saying the Home Minister “exposed the lies” circulating recently.
“An outstanding speech by Home Minister Shri Amit Shah Ji. With concrete facts, he has highlighted diverse aspects of our electoral process, the strength of our democracy and also exposed the lies of the Opposition,” Modi posted.
Shah’s remarks unfolded amid a heated debate over election integrity. He dismissed allegations of manipulation as “baseless,” accused the opposition of trying to erode public confidence, and outlined procedural safeguards, historical precedents and legal frameworks to reassure that India’s electoral system remains secure and transparent.
The exchange was one of the sharpest moments in the session. Treasury benches rallied behind Shah’s rebuttal, while the opposition insisted the concerns raised by Gandhi and others deserved deeper scrutiny.
During a discussion on election reforms in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah responded to every point raised by Rahul Gandhi regarding “vote theft,” citing instances of alleged manipulation by the opposition itself. His address was interrupted frequently, forcing him to sit down at times, even as Speaker Om Birla tried to restore order.
Shah lampooned the Congress leader’s “nuclear bomb” press conference and pointed out irregularities in Gandhi’s allegations. He referenced Gandhi’s claim that more than 500 voters on Haryana’s list shared the same residential address. Shah noted that the Election Commission of India clarified the residence at “House No. 265” spanned a one‑acre ancestral plot, housing several families in separate dwellings, and that separate numbers had not been allotted to individual houses.
“There could be three generations of family members living in a house,” the BJP leader said, adding that “they would have exercised their franchise even in Congress’s regime in Haryana.”
Shah’s “counter‑bombshell” stunned the opposition when he said a voter from Bihar had been forced by the Congress to repeat false statements about voter‑list anomalies. He also accused Congress leaders themselves of “vote theft,” sparking loud protests. He cited the period after India’s independence, when Congress leaders voted on a mandate from regional chiefs to decide who should be Prime Minister, noting that Nehru won two votes against Sardar Vallabh Patel’s 28, yet Nehru became Prime Minister.
He further mentioned an Allahabad High Court ruling in June 1975 that voided Indira Gandhi’s victory from Rae Bareli after opposition leader Raj Narain moved it on alleged electoral malpractice, which ultimately led to the Emergency in 1975.
When Rahul Gandhi asked about the NDA government’s enactment of a law shielding the Election Commissioner from legal proceedings, Shah reminded him that Congress had historically ensured similar immunity for prime ministers. Shah defended the “safeguard and identification of recurrent” (SIR) process as essential for “purifying” voter rolls, tracing its origins to Nehru’s era and arguing that it continued under later governments—even during the brief non‑Congress rule of Atal Bihari Vajpayee—until Manmohan Singh’s coalition in 2004.
“The process has never faced complaint or protest since it resumed under our government,” he noted, adding that there had been no SIR between 2004 and 2025. While a returning officer could previously remove deceased names, double entries and so on, the Chief Election Commissioner in 2010 halted that practice. Thus, SIR is crucial for updating the voters’ list, Shah asserted, standing firm against disruptions.
Despite repeated interruptions, Shah asserted control, saying, “I will decide the order of my speech,” emphasizing his insistence on parliamentary decorum and his extensive legislative experience. (pgh/uk)
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