Karnal, Nov 2026 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday launched a sharp attack on Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a debate, asking him to formally write to the Prime Minister instead of engaging in what he described as diversionary tactics.
Addressing a rally in Karnal, Haryana, on the concluding day of the BJP’s ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ campaign, Shah said the government was ready to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
“I want to challenge Rahul ji directly. You challenge PM Narendra Modi to a discussion? If you want a discussion, simply write a letter to PM Modi. We are ready to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the SIR exercise,” Shah said.
The Home Minister dismissed the Opposition’s allegations of “vote chori” and irregularities in the voter revision process, arguing that the exercise began only in 2025, while the Congress had been losing elections since the BJP came to power in 2014.
Shah accused Rahul Gandhi and his INDIA bloc allies of using the SIR controversy as an excuse to explain their electoral defeats. “Rahul Baba knows that he is going to lose, which is why he blames the Election Commission and the SIR exercise for his defeats,” he said.
He said the people had elected Narendra Modi as Prime Minister for a third consecutive term, but the Opposition had failed to accept its electoral setbacks under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. Instead, he alleged, it continued to rely on “lies and canards”.
Shah also accused the Congress of disrupting Parliament and creating unrest on the streets. He said the Opposition should debate issues of national importance instead of boycotting proceedings and mobilising crowds for protests.
“Creating disruptions and boycotting proceedings in Parliament have become part of the Congress party’s culture. You do not allow Parliament to function and then gather crowds on the streets to spread anarchy,” he said.
Questioning whether the Opposition believed its tactics could destabilise India’s democracy, Shah said, “Do you really think that an 80-year-old democracy will fall for your tactics? Rahul Gandhi, remember, we are people who have come from the streets.”
The Home Minister urged the Opposition to abandon what he termed an “anarchist mindset” and participate in debates on pressing national issues.
The Karnal rally marked the final day of the BJP’s ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ campaign, organised in response to the Congress-led ‘vote chori’ march. Shah claimed the BJP’s rallies had drawn substantial public participation, contrasting them with the INDIA bloc’s rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, which he described as poorly attended.
Referring to the “half-empty” ground at the Opposition rally, Shah said the turnout indicated that people were not responding to what he called the Opposition’s political tactics.
He also cited the Congress’s declining electoral strength under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership over the past two decades. Shah said the party had 1,200 MLAs when Rahul Gandhi became its general secretary in 2007. According to him, the number fell to 900 when Gandhi became vice-president and further declined to 700 after he became party president.
Shah said the figures reflected the Congress’s continued electoral decline under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.
