Lok Sabha turns battleground as Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi trade blows over 'vote chori' claims

The flashpoint came when Rahul Gandhi challenged Shah to hold an open debate on the allegations he had raised in recent press conferences about irregularities in voter lists.

Shah, visibly irritated, pushed back, declaring that no one would dictate the order or content of his speech in Parliament.

During his address, Shah accused the Opposition of repeatedly attacking the integrity of existing electoral rolls, while simultaneously objecting to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)—a process, he said, meant to update and clean up voter lists.

He mocked the Congress for what he described as selective outrage.

“When you win, the voter list is perfect—you celebrate and take oath. But the moment you suffer a loss, like in Bihar, suddenly the voter list becomes flawed. These double standards won’t work,” he said.

Shah also derided Rahul Gandhi’s series of press conferences on “vote chori,” including the one he termed a “hydrogen bomb.”

He accused the Nehru-Gandhi family of being “generational vote thieves,” sparking loud protests from the Opposition benches.

Rahul Gandhi interrupted, demanding that Shah first explain why Election Commissioners had been given immunity for actions taken while in office. He then challenged the minister to debate the contents of his press conferences one by one.

A visibly agitated Shah responded, saying, "I have been elected for three decades. Parliament will not run on your terms. I will speak in the order I choose. Listen patiently—I will answer everything.”

Gandhi later dismissed Shah’s tone as “defensive and fearful.”

Shah used the moment to launch a pointed historical attack. He claimed the “first instance of vote theft” occurred when Jawaharlal Nehru became Prime Minister despite Sardar Patel receiving more state unit votes.

He then cited the Allahabad High Court verdict that invalidated Indira Gandhi’s Raebareli win, calling it a “big vote chori,” and accused her of changing laws and superseding senior judges to shield herself.

Turning to Sonia Gandhi, Shah referred to an old allegation that she voted before gaining citizenship—prompting immediate objections from Congress MPs, who called it baseless.

Moving back to current issues, Shah defended EVMs and the SIR process, accusing the Opposition of wanting to retain illegal immigrants on voter rolls. This remark triggered a coordinated Opposition walkout.

Outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said the Home Minister had evaded every substantive question.

“He avoided discussing transparent voter rolls, clarity on EVM architecture, or the evidence I presented. His reply was completely defensive.”