Heated Clash in Lok Sabha as Amit Shah Rebuts Rahul Gandhi on Electoral Reforms

New Delhi, Dec 2025 : The Lok Sabha witnessed sharp exchanges on Wednesday as Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi sparred intensely during a debate on electoral reforms. Tensions escalated when Rahul Gandhi questioned the Home Minister on electoral roll revisions and challenged him to debate the points raised in his three press conferences. Shah responded firmly, declaring that “Parliament will not run on your directions,” asserting that Gandhi could not dictate the order or terms of his reply.

When the LoP repeatedly insisted that Shah “first answer my yesterday’s question,” the Home Minister referenced his three decades of legislative experience and reminded the Opposition benches that speaking precedence cannot be demanded or imposed in Parliament.

Shah mounted a strong counteroffensive against Congress criticism of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing the Opposition of crafting a “fake narrative” to mislead the public. He dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of “vote chori” as politically calculated and baseless.

Clarifying the purpose of the SIR exercise, Shah said the Election Commission (EC)—a constitutional authority—was conducting a routine and long-established revision meant to update electoral rolls by deleting names of deceased persons, foreign nationals, and illegal immigrants. “Should illegal immigrants participate in elections?” he asked pointedly.

To counter the Opposition’s charge that the SIR was politically influenced, the Home Minister cited electoral history. He emphasised that intensive revisions took place repeatedly between 1952 and 2004, almost entirely under Congress-led governments. “From Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, and Manmohan Singh—no one ever opposed detailed electoral roll revisions. Why the outrage now?” he remarked.

Shah added that “history makes some people uncomfortable, but without history, no society can move forward,” underscoring that electoral reforms must be viewed in continuity rather than controversy.

The Home Minister alleged that, for four months, “one-sided lies” were circulated to create public confusion around the SIR process. He accused the Opposition of being anxious because “people no longer vote for them,” and argued that the revision would remove illegal immigrants “who back them.”

The heated confrontation set the tone for a stormy debate, reflecting the deep political divide over electoral reforms and the broader question of voter roll integrity.