BJP's Maha Padayatra: Amit Shah Targets Rahul Gandhi Over SIR, Says Will Remove Every Infiltrator From Voter Rolls | Videos

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on November 2 led a padayatra in Hyderabad, Telangana, to counter the Congress party's allegations surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Shah was seen holding the Indian National Flag as thousands of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters marched alongside him during the rally. The padayatra was organised amid the political confrontation between the BJP and Congress over the ongoing SIR exercise.

Earlier in the day, the Union Home Minister offered prayers at the Bhagyalakshmi Temple before participating in the BJP's Maha Padayatra.

Addressing a gathering, Shah launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his criticism of the SIR exercise and alleged that the Opposition was attempting to protect infiltrators by opposing the electoral roll revision process.

"Rahul ji, put in as much effort as you want; we will ensure that every single infiltrator is removed from the electoral rolls," Shah said, adding that the BJP would ensure their removal from voter lists and their deportation from the country.

Questioning Rahul Gandhi's claim that the BJP's electoral victories were linked to the SIR exercise, Shah cited the party's victories in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when, he said, no such revision exercise was underway.

"Modi ji won in 2019 as well. There was no SIR then. Did Modi ji win or not? He won because of the voters of India," Shah said.

He also referred to the BJP's electoral victories in Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi and Bihar, claiming that the party had secured significant mandates in these states.

Shah also referred to the INDIA bloc's rally held in Delhi on November 1, questioning its stated objective of protecting voters and electoral rights. Taking a dig at the Opposition's ‘Vote Bachao’ campaign, he said, "A rally was also held in Delhi yesterday. It was Rahul Gandhi's rally, which they called a 'Vote Bachao' rally. That was not a 'Vote Bachao' rally; it was a 'Ghuspetiya Bachao' rally."

Targeting the Congress party over its opposition to the SIR exercise, Shah alleged that it wanted to influence elections through bogus voting and questioned whether duplicate entries in electoral rolls should be removed.

"The Congress party wants to capture elections through bogus voting. If one person has two votes, should one of them be cancelled or not?" he asked.

The Union Home Minister further claimed that three crore votes belonged to people who did not exist and alleged that these entries were linked to Bangladeshi infiltrators.

"Now we come to the source of 'Rahul Baba's' stomach ache. Three crore votes are such that the people they belong to do not even exist. These are Bangladeshi infiltrators," Shah alleged.

Accusing the Congress and its allies of opposing the SIR exercise to protect their alleged vote bank, Shah said the BJP would continue supporting the electoral roll revision process.

"The entire Congress and its allies are working to stop the SIR because these infiltrators are their vote bank. But we, the workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party, stand firmly with the SIR," he said.

Shah also targeted Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, asserting that the BJP would ensure the removal of alleged infiltrators from electoral rolls and their deportation.

"But I have come here today to say that Rahul ji and Revanth Reddy ji can put in as much effort as they want. The BJP will ensure that every single infiltrator is removed from the voter list and driven out of the country," he said.

Emphasising the BJP's position on voting rights, Shah said, "Only those who are citizens of this country will be allowed to vote here."