Fiery scenes unfolded in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday after the Opposition walked out during Home Minister Amit Shah’s address on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, sparking a series of sharp exchanges between both sides of the House.
Shah criticised the Opposition for what he described as a lack of willingness to engage on major national concerns, accusing them of “wasting Parliament’s time”. He alleged that their objections to the SIR exercise stemmed from an intention to “retain illegal immigrants on voter lists”.
He warned that opposing the SIR initiative would politically harm the Opposition in states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, reiterating the NDA’s stance of “detect, delete and deport illegal immigrants”. Shah asserted that the BJP’s prospects in West Bengal would be “assured” if the Trinamool Congress continued resisting the revision exercise.
The situation escalated further when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi challenged Shah to debate him on allegations he had raised in three recent press conferences, claiming that the BJP, with the support of the Election Commission, was involved in “vote theft”.
Gandhi questioned why election commissioners were granted complete immunity, demanding that the home minister clarify the rationale behind such protections. He argued that Shah’s response appeared “defensive”, saying it suggested the minister was “shaken and afraid”.
Shah countered that he would not alter the structure or order of his speech based on the LoP’s demands. His remarks triggered repeated interruptions from both government and Opposition benches, ultimately culminating in the walkout.
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