NEW DELHI DEC 10: A heated exchange erupted in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) on Wednesday as leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi openly challenged home minister Amit Shah to a one-on-one debate, drawing a sharp put-down from the minister, who said, “I will decide.”
Shah was responding to opposition allegations of “vote chori” and Gandhi’s charge about “multiple voters at one Haryana house” when the Congress leader rose to intervene. Gandhi said his key question from the previous day — why “full immunity” was granted to the election commissioner “for the first time in history” — had not been answered and claimed there were not just isolated fake voters but “19 lakh fake voters” in Haryana. He then proposed a direct face-off: “Let us have a debate on my press conference… Amit Shah ji, I challenge you to have a debate.”
Responding amid uproar, Shah told Speaker Om Birla that he had been an MLA or MP for 30 years and was well-versed in parliamentary procedure, insisting the House would not function at Gandhi’s whim. Looking towards the Congress leader, he said firmly that Parliament “will not proceed according to your wishes” and that he alone would decide the sequence of his speech, asking Gandhi to show “patience” and assuring he would reply to everything.
Gandhi shot back, calling Shah’s reaction “a completely defensive response, a scared response.” Shah, resuming in a calmer tone, told the Speaker he would not be provoked and would continue his reply. He then sought to turn the “vote theft” charge back on the Congress, alleging such irregularities had taken place during the tenures of former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, and even cited a Delhi high court case to claim Sonia Gandhi became a voter before acquiring Indian citizenship.
