NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday robustly defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the Lok Sabha, accusing the opposition of peddling misinformation and questioning how democracy can thrive if “ghuspetiye” (infiltrators) determine the prime minister and chief minister.
Intervening during a debate on electoral reforms, Shah reminded the House that SIR is not a new initiative, having been conducted since 1952 under Jawaharlal Nehru, and subsequently during the tenures of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh. No political party had ever opposed it before, as its core purpose is to cleanse voter lists by removing the deceased, adding new 18-year-olds, and weeding out foreign nationals.
Shah asserted that Parliament remains the ultimate forum for debate and BJP-NDA leaders never shy away from scrutiny, but SIR falls squarely under the Election Commission’s purview. He criticised the opposition for derailing the agreed discussion on broader electoral reforms by fixating on SIR, amid months of one-sided propaganda aimed at misleading the public.
“Can democracy be safe when infiltrators decide who becomes PM or CM?” Shah directly challenged the House and the nation, underscoring SIR’s vital role in safeguarding electoral integrity and national security.
