Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, accusing the Congress of questioning Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and opposing electoral roll revisions to protect bogus voters. Addressing a rally in Hyderabad, Shah coined the term 'RR Tax' for what he alleged was money collected as 'Rahul Tax' through Revanth Reddy, and vowed that the BJP would ensure the removal of every infiltrator from voter lists.Targeting the Congress over its allegations of irregularities in electoral rolls and its opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, Shah challenged Rahul Gandhi to participate in a discussion on electoral reforms.
He said the government was ready to convene a special session of Parliament to debate the issue.Questioning Gandhi's criticism of EVMs, Shah asked how Revanth Reddy had become Chief Minister of Telangana if the machines were faulty. He also referred to Congress victories in other states, including Himachal Pradesh, and accused the party of accepting the electoral process only when it won."When you win, the credit goes to the people, but when you lose, you blame the EVMs," Shah said.
He also took a swipe at Gandhi's recent mock Parliament exercise, sarcastically suggesting that the Congress leader should have played the role of Prime Minister during the simulation. Shah said Gandhi would never become Prime Minister in the real Parliament and added that becoming one in a mock Parliament might at least bring some happiness to his mother, Sonia Gandhi.'EVERY INFILTRATOR WILL BE REMOVED FROM VOTER ROLLS'Defending the SIR exercise, Shah accused the Congress of opposing the revision of electoral rolls to protect its vote bank.
He said the BJP would not back down despite opposition from Gandhi and Revanth Reddy. "Rahul ji, Revanth ji, put in as much effort as you want. We will ensure that every single infiltrator is removed from the electoral rolls," Shah declared.Rejecting Gandhi's claim that 13 crore votes had been deleted, Shah called the figure misleading.
He claimed that around 6.25 crore entries were linked to people who had shifted to other locations, while nearly three crore entries belonged to deceased or non-existent people, including what he described as Bangladeshi infiltrators.Questioning the Congress's opposition to removing duplicate and ineligible entries, Shah asked whether a person registered as a voter in two places should be allowed to cast two votes. He accused the party of seeking to retain bogus entries in electoral rolls to influence election results.Referring to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had won despite the absence of the SIR exercise at the time.
He argued that Modi's victory reflected the support of Indian voters.SHAH CALLS CONGRESS 'ON A VENTILATOR'Shah intensified his attack on the Congress, describing the party as being "on a ventilator" and questioning whether it could compete politically with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Taking another dig at Rahul Gandhi, he said: "Forget Modi ji, even my Telangana Yuva Morcha president will defeat you."Shah also expressed confidence that the BJP would emerge victorious in Telangana in the coming elections. He said the party had strengthened its position after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and was poised to make further electoral gains in the state.He accused the Congress of taking credit for electoral victories while questioning the credibility of the electoral process whenever it lost.Shah's address in Hyderabad was part of the BJP's 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakata Hatao' (Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy) campaign.
The campaign was organised in response to protests by the Congress-led INDIA bloc over alleged vote theft and irregularities in electoral rolls.- Ends