New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday witnessed a fiery exchange between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, with the latter asserting that the Home Minister’s response during the debate on electoral reforms was “completely defensive” and failed to address key questions regarding alleged ‘vote theft.’

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The high-voltage confrontation occurred during the government’s reply to the discussion on electoral reforms, which has been a flashpoint in the current Winter Session of Parliament.

Rahul Gandhi’s Direct Challenge and Retort

The friction began when Mr. Gandhi interrupted the Home Minister’s address, directly challenging him to an open debate on the allegations of electoral manipulation that the Congress leader has made in a series of recent press conferences.

“Amit Shah ji, I challenge you to have a debate on my three press conferences. Let us have a debate,” Mr. Gandhi declared in the Lower House, pressing the government to directly engage with his claims of irregularities in voter lists, particularly in states like Haryana.

Following Mr. Shah’s sharp refusal to allow the opposition to dictate the order of his speech, Mr. Gandhi launched his criticism.

“The Home Minister gave a defensive response,” Mr. Gandhi told reporters shortly after the Opposition staged a walkout. “This is a response of being rattled and scared. What points we raised, he did not answer.”

The Congress leader specifically highlighted that the Home Minister did not address his questions regarding:

• The need for a transparent and universally verifiable voter list.

• The government’s reasoning for granting full immunity to Election Commissioners.

• The issue of widespread duplicate voter entries in several states.

Shah’s Counter-Attack and Historical Context

Earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah strongly defended the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has been the primary target of the Opposition’s criticism.

Mr. Shah dismissed Mr. Gandhi’s allegations of ‘vote theft’ as a “fake narrative” designed to erode trust in democratic institutions. He asserted that the SIR exercise, which aims to cleanse the rolls of duplicate names and illegal immigrants, was vital for democratic integrity and was being conducted under the constitutional mandate of the Election Commission.

In a dramatic counter-attack, the Home Minister accused the Congress of adopting a “double standard,” stating: “When you win elections, the EC is great; when you lose, the EC is incompetent.” He further referenced historical instances, including allegations of ‘vote theft’ against past Congress regimes, to deflect the Opposition’s charges.

Opposition Walkout

The debate culminated in the entire Opposition, led by the Congress party, staging a walkout from the Lok Sabha in protest against the Home Minister’s speech, which they claimed was a diversion from the core issues.

Speaking after the walkout, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi echoed Mr. Gandhi’s sentiment, stating, “We expected the Home Minister to address the Opposition’s questions raised over the past two days, but instead, he only read from a script without responding to the issues highlighted by the Leader of the Opposition.”

The clash marks a significant escalation in the political rhetoric surrounding the integrity of India’s electoral process, shifting the battleground from press conferences to the floor of Parliament.