Amit Shah Accuses Rahul Gandhi of Shielding Infiltrators, Piyush Goyal Criticizes Congress Over Electoral Rolls Petition

In first remarks on the Opposition protests seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and scrapping of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday accused Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi of shielding “infiltrators” for “vote bank politics”. “I want to tell Rahul Gandhi ji that the nation is well aware of your plan to save ghuspaithiyas (infiltrators) and now the people of Bharat are not going to fall for your ploy,” he told reporters. He said the cleaning of electoral rolls was the responsibility of the Election Commission of India, and those opposing it were trying to save those they think are their “vote bank”. Also Tuesday, Union Minister Piyush Goyal targeted the INDIA bloc, saying if the Opposition had any evidence of “vote chori”, why was it not producing it before the Supreme Court. Shah said, “Our Constitution has given the ECI the responsibility to keep elections free and fair. Free and fair elections are possible only when we keep our voter list as per the definition of who is a voter.” “Our Representation of People Act defines who is a voter. The first condition for being a voter is to be a citizen of India. If you are against this, bring a proposal in Parliament that anyone can be a voter. And the second condition is the minimum age to vote. The SIR will have to ask the age of each person. It will also ask whether you are a citizen of India,” he said. “They also understand that this has to be asked, but they are opposing it because the votes that are cut because of this are those of the ones they consider their vote bank… If the EC does not purify the voter list, will political parties do so? And if you still have an objection to any procedure of the ECI, you can go to court,” he said. Shah said that taking out rallies against it was a violation of constitutional proprieties. “The SIR is happening under the monitoring of the Supreme Court, still you are not accepting it,” he said, adding that “in many places, 30 per cent, 20 per cent, 15 per cent, 11 per cent infiltrators were caught”. Listing a string of Congress defeats in elections at different levels, he said it had not been able to come to power in states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, UP and Bihar for decades on end, long before the SIR started. “Today, on behalf of the BJP, I once again wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Tripura, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bengal, and Assam. Amidst the storm of malicious propaganda, they have placed their seal of approval, their stamp of preference, on Narendra Modi, the BJP’s lotus symbol, and the NDA, thereby strengthening all nationalist forces. I thank them sincerely on behalf of the BJP,” he said. Meanwhile, Goyal targeted the Congress after the Supreme Court Registry flagged defects in the petition questioning the legitimacy of the SIR. He said the Congress “cannot even file a petition properly” – Congress leaders said the issues flagged were “procedural” and were being fixed. Goyal said, “If they really have some proof against the Election Commission, any evidence of vote chori, why did they not give it to the (Supreme) Court, to the Election Commission? Actually, there is such stupidity at play here that they cannot even file a petition properly. This is despite giving so many big lawyers Rajya Sabha seats.” “The petition they filed in the Supreme Court has 14 defects… so much so that they cannot even pay the court fee properly… I believe the Congress is itself responsible for its failures. The Congress’s future under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership is dark,” he said. Seeking to underline that the BJP-led NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had granted autonomy to the Election Commission, he said the Congress had rewarded Election Commissioners with political positions” or “political benefits”. JD(U) leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh also accused Rahul Gandhi of “placing his family above everything else, discrediting constitutional institutions and staging an unprecedented protest before the Supreme Court to exert pressure.” “Under the governance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, such pressure tactics will not work… No one is appointed to a constitutional position merely on the basis of loyalty, unlike during the Congress regime,” he said. “Rahul Gandhi’s acts of anarchy can never match the patriotism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji. Rahul Gandhi’s dream would remain nothing more than a ‘Mungerilal ke haseen sapne’ (fanciful dreams)… The Congress party should refrain from creating anarchy and allow constitutional institutions to function independently,” he said.