New Delhi: The Lok Sabha witnessed a fiery exchange on Wednesday between Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a debate on electoral reforms, specifically concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The confrontation arose when Gandhi challenged Shah to address allegations of "vote chori" (vote theft) that he had raised during a recent press conference.

Gandhi pressed Shah to respond to his questions regarding the Election Commission and the SIR, but Shah asserted his right to structure his own speech and address the issues in the order he deemed appropriate. "The LoP won't decide the order of what I say. He should have the patience to hear me out," the Home Minister stated. He further emphasized his extensive experience in parliamentary procedures, stating, "Parliament will not proceed according to your wishes. I will decide the sequence of my speech". Gandhi, in turn, called Shah's response "defensive and nervous".

The core of the dispute centered on the SIR, an initiative by the Election Commission (EC) to refine voter rolls by removing the names of deceased individuals and foreign nationals. Shah defended the SIR as a necessary measure to ensure the integrity of the electoral process, questioning whether "illegal immigrants" should be allowed to participate in elections. He accused the opposition of attempting to create a "fake narrative" around electoral reforms and dismissed Gandhi's "vote chori" allegations as politically motivated.

Shah also responded to specific allegations made by Gandhi regarding irregularities in Haryana, where Gandhi claimed there were 1.9 million fake voters. Shah referenced Gandhi's claim of "multiple voters at one Haryana house," and addressed a specific instance highlighted in Gandhi's November 5th press conference, where he claimed 501 votes were registered at a single house in Haryana. Shah clarified that the Election Commission had investigated the matter and found that the address in question was a one-acre ancestral plot where multiple families resided. He stated that the numbering system had been in place since a Congress government was elected in Haryana.

Shah also accused the Congress of hypocrisy, stating that the Opposition only questions the integrity of the Election Commission when they lose elections. He pointed out that when the BJP lost elections in states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the Opposition had no complaints about the electoral rolls.

Gandhi, however, remained unconvinced, challenging Shah to a direct debate on the issues he had raised. He questioned the decision to grant "full immunity" to election commissioners. Shah, while not explicitly agreeing to a debate on Gandhi's terms, maintained that he would address all concerns raised by the opposition during his speech. He reiterated that the SIR was the responsibility of the Election Commission and was being conducted to ensure clean electoral rolls.