Union Minister Nityanand Rai has accused Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition of creating anarchy by opposing the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, defending the process as essential for removing illegal voters and fake entries.

Union Minister Nityanand Rai Criticizes Opposition Over SIR Process

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Thursday addressed a press conference at the BJP office in Surat and targeted the Opposition, saying that an atmosphere of anarchy was being created on the streets of Delhi under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, against the spirit of democracy. Rai said that the Opposition was not opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) but was supporting and protecting those advocating regime change and those inspired by the Bangladesh movement under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.

Targeting Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, Rai further said that since 2014, under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, the Congress party had reached a century of electoral defeats. "To conceal this reality, the Congress was taking shelter behind SIR. However, the entire country knew that Rahul Gandhi was using SIR as a pretext to protect foreign infiltrators." Rai defended the entire SIR process and said, "The fundamental objective was to eliminate illegal votes and ensure that genuine voters received their rightful voting rights. However, he said that it appeared the Opposition had lost faith in democracy and was therefore extending support to those advocating regime change in the country.”

Legal Basis and Historical Context of Voter Revision

“Article 324 of the Indian Constitution and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, empower the Election Commission to conduct SIR. The Supreme Court has also affirmed this position. Out of the 12 SIR exercises conducted in India’s history, 10 took place during the tenure of Congress-led governments. If SIR was a legitimate administrative process when the Congress was in power, then how has the same process suddenly become an attack on democracy today?” he added.

The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs also presented figures regarding the names removed under SIR. He stated that 13 crore names had been removed under the exercise, including 6.3 crore people who had permanently relocated, 3 crore who were absent, 2.8 crore who had died and 1 crore duplicate entries. Rai alleged that the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi were now attempting to protect 13 crore fake voters. He questioned why Rahul Gandhi remained silent about the Congress’s electoral defeats between 2014 and 2025. He said that the Congress had suffered 56 defeats in Assembly elections during this period, all before the current SIR exercise began.

Rai Questions Opposition Silence on Electoral Defeats

“Why is Rahul Gandhi silent on these defeats? Why doesn’t he answer? Rahul Gandhi ji, hasn’t the country’s electorate rejected you? When Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, your party was in government?” he asked.

Challenging Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, Rai asked whether it was not true that illegal votes belonging to infiltrators had been added in West Bengal. “Where did these infiltrators come from? Who would know better than Mamata Banerjee? Are Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav unaware of these facts?” he asked.

Advising Opposition leaders, Rai said that if they were engaged in public-centric politics, they would not have faced electoral defeats in West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat and other states. Rai also reminded the Congress that when it won elections in Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, the Election Commission was considered fair and SIR was acceptable. However, after the BJP won elections in various states, the Congress began questioning the Election Commission and SIR. “Rahul Gandhi ji, such an approach has absolutely no place in a democracy. Remember, the public knows everything,” he said.

Nityanand Rai categorically stated that those conspiring to weaken constitutional institutions would receive a strong response. He asserted that constitutional institutions would not be allowed to be weakened under any circumstances. Issuing a warning to Opposition parties, he said, “Stop playing into the hands of foreign elements and have faith in the country’s democracy.”

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rai said that no matter how hard anarchist forces tried, their conspiracies to weaken the country’s democratic system and institutions would never succeed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He further said that Prime Minister Modi had resolved to transform India into a Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by 2047 and that the country would fulfil this resolve.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)