Overview
- A charged Lok Sabha debate saw Rahul Gandhi challenge Amit Shah to an open debate on his three press conferences alleging 'vote chori' and question immunity for election commissioners, drawing a sharp rebuff from the minister.
- Shah maintained that SIR falls under the Election Commission’s jurisdiction and not the government’s, saying the House cannot hold a detailed review of it and noting a two-day logjam before agreement to discuss broader electoral reforms.
- He described SIR as a periodic verification to add new voters and delete the deceased, duplicates and foreign nationals, citing precedents under governments since 1952.
- Accusing rivals of spreading 'one-sided lies' and seeking to retain illegal immigrants on voter rolls, Shah warned that parties opposing SIR could face defeats in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
- BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad sought to expunge K. C. Venugopal’s remarks, citing his petitioner status in a Supreme Court case, and Shah referenced a court dispute over Sonia Gandhi’s voter registration that Congress leaders rejected, after which Opposition MPs staged a walkout.