HM Amit Shah Slams Congress, Says ‘No One Opposed SIR Till 2004’ As Lok Sabha Turns Combustible

Union Home Minister Amit Shah delivered a forceful and uncompromising defence of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls on Wednesday, asserting that the opposition is driving a politically motivated and historically inconsistent attack on SIR.

Addressing the Lok Sabha during an increasingly charged debate on electoral reforms, Shah declared that the procedure, which aims to cleanse voter lists of duplications and illegal entries, had faced ‘not a single objection’ from 1952 through 2004.

Shah turned to parliamentary history to anchor his argument. He said authorities conducted the inaugural SIR in 1952 under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and followed it with detailed revisions in 1957 and 1961.

The exercise continued smoothly under Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1965 and 1966, and remained a routine democratic process under Rajiv Gandhi in 1983-84, 1987 and 1989.

Later, PV Narasimha Rao oversaw revisions in 1992-93 and 1995, while Atal Bihari Vajpayee implemented the 2002-03 cycle.

Shah pointedly noted that authorities carried out the next full-scale revision in 2025 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Till 2004, no one objected to SIR. Everyone accepted that we must keep voter lists clean to preserve the sanctity of elections,” Shah said. “If the voter list itself becomes polluted, how can we expect free and fair polls?”

Election Commission’s Constitutional Authority Emphasised

HM Amit Shah stressed that the Constitution grants the Election Commission full authority over voter roll preparation, additions, deletions, and corrections.

He remarked that lawmakers created these provisions long before his party even existed, directly challenging the Opposition’s claim that the ruling party was weaponising SIR for electoral gain.

The Home Minister argued that duplicate voting remains a serious issue.

“Should a voter be allowed to vote in two places? This process is intended to purify the electoral system,” he stated, adding that eliminating illegal entries is essential to safeguarding democratic legitimacy.

He alleged that the Opposition’s objections stemmed from fear that SIR would erase “illegal immigrants who form part of their political support structure.”

The debate quickly escalated when Rahul Gandhi, visibly agitated, confronted Shah and demanded a debate on Congress’s earlier press conferences.

Shah countered Rahul Gandhi’s statements as exaggerated and misleading, and cited Bihar voter Minta Devi, who admitted she had mistakenly submitted incorrect information.

Shah said, “When you win, the Election Commission is perfect; when you lose, it becomes incompetent. These double standards will not survive scrutiny.”

Tensions spiked when Shah, sharpening his attack, accused ‘some families’ of being ‘hereditary vote thieves’, referencing Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi attempted to interject, but Shah dismissed him curtly: ‘Don’t interrupt’.

The fiery exchanges exposed an intensifying fault line between the NDA and the INDIA Bloc, with SIR emerging as the newest flashpoint in the contest over electoral credibility, transparency, and political survival.

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