The BJP launched a strong attack on Rahul Gandhi following his criticism of Amit Shah over electoral reforms in the Lok Sabha. BJP leaders accused Gandhi of being unprepared, while Gandhi retorted that the Home Minister appeared nervous and evaded his questions.
BJP Leaders Counter Rahul Gandhi's Criticism
The BJP mounted an all-out attack on Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi after he vocally criticised Home Minister Amit Shah for his speech on electoral reforms during the debate in the lower house on Wednesday. Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal alleged that the Lok Sabha LoP did not even listen to the Home Minister's arguments. "There was a discussion on electoral reforms and the Union Home Minister gave his statement in the Lok Sabha yesterday, in which he was responding to the issues raised by the Leader of the Opposition. The opposition did not even listen to his response completely... The Home Minister was right in saying how can someone who is not a citizen of this country be included in the voter list of this country?" he said.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said that Amit Shah had destroyed Rahul Gandhi's arguments on the SIR and that no one in the nation takes him seriously anymore. "After the partition of India, on the pyre of the martyrs, the Congress Party enjoyed the pleasures of power, and those people from the family who enjoy the pleasures of power do not know anything about the country, about the world, and about education. Rahul Gandhi came without any preparation; the three main points of his speech were excellently 'washed' by the Home Minister in the 'washing machine', therefore neither the public takes Rahul Gandhi's words seriously nor does the country take them seriously," Dubey said.
BJP MP Rekha Sharma said that the opposition does not want to discuss the issue as they are afraid that the truth about states like West Bengal will come out "I think this is the opposition's defeat because they wanted to discuss the SIR issue and they themselves do not want to listen... They are afraid that the truth will come out about how there are states like West Bengal where people who came from outside are settled... They (the opposition) are afraid that their 'scattered' governments in the country will also slip out of their hands... The government is continuously working on this (issue of infiltration) ... Why should those who came from outside use our resources? Why should they choose our government?... The public will give them an answer," she said
BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal said, "Is it the party that has been stealing votes for a lifetime that's speaking on all this? For us, there's only one good situation: that they (Congress) people don't do this kind of self-introspection and keep accusing us of vote theft."
Rahul Gandhi, Congress Stand Firm
However, Rahul Gandhi has stood his ground in his criticism of the Union Home Minister and said that the Home Minister had not answered any of his questions directly. "Amit Shah ji was very nervous yesterday. He used the wrong language, his hands were trembling... He is under tremendous mental pressure. Everybody saw this yesterday. What I asked him, he did not answer directly. He gave no proof. I have directly challenged him to come on the ground and let us discuss all my press conferences in the Parliament. I got no answer," he claimed
Congress MP Rajiv Shukla said, "I don't understand how long BJP will keep talking about history... They bring in Nehru in everything... I bet they dream about Nehru's and Gandhi's in their sleep... What are you doing sitting in the government for the last 11 years?"
Heated Exchange Over 'Vote Chori' Allegations
On Wednesday, tensions in the Lok Sabha escalated when Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi engaged in a heated exchange over allegations of "vote chori". Gandhi repeatedly challenged Shah to debate on issues raised in the press conference, including claims of irregularities in the electoral rolls. Shah responded firmly, saying "Parliament won't function as per his wish," and insisted he would address all questions in his own sequence. Shah also defended the special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, calling it a necessary process to "sanitise" electoral rolls. (ANI)
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