Oppn raising SIR to keep 'ghuspathiye' in electoral rolls: Shah
New Delhi (PTI): In a stinging attack at the Opposition over its criticism of the SIR, Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said they are worried because they can no longer win elections by corrupt practices and claimed that the reason for Congress' defeat in polls was its leadership and not EVMs or "vote chori".
Intervening in a debate on election reforms in the Lok Sabha, Shah alleged that the Opposition is raising the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to keep "avaidh ghuspathiye (illegal immigrants)" in the voters' list.
When the opposition MPs walked out later, Shah said no matter how many times the Opposition boycotts, the NDA will continue with its policy of detect, delete and deport 'ghuspathiye'.
The Opposition wants to normalise and formalise the 'ghuspathiye' and add them in electoral rolls, he said.
The BJP leader cited three instances of alleged "vote chori" by Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
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"Post Independence, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was backed by 28 persons while Jawaharlal Nehru by two persons and yet Nehru became the prime minister, this was vote chori," he said.
The minister said that the second "vote chori" was by Indira Gandhi, when she granted herself immunity after court set aside her election.
He said the dispute of third "vote chori" has just reached civil courts on how Sonia Gandhi became a voter before becoming citizen of India.
Shah also took a dig at the Congress and said the reason for its poll losses was its leadership.
"If someone asks a question in a presser he is dubbed as a BJP agent, if they lose a case, they accuse the judge, if they lose an election, they blame EVMs. Now when EVM blame does not hold, they brought up vote chori...still they lost Bhar. Now the reason for your defeat is your leadership and not EVM or voters' list," the home minister said.
"They think no one holds them accountable, 'bhagwan kare, I am proved wrong and one day Congress workers seek their accountability," he said.
Shah also accused the Opposition of spreading falsehoods on SIR and launched a strong defence of the exercise, asking whether democracy can be safe when the prime minister and the chief ministers are decided by 'ghuspathiye'.
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He said the Opposition "gets angry when we talk of history, but how can any country or society move forward without history".
"The first SIR was conducted in 1952, when Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime minister and the Congress was in power. Then it happened in 1957 when Nehru was there, the third happened in 1961 and Nehru was there.
"Then it happened during Lal Bahadur Shastri's time, then again during Indira Gandhi's time, Rajiv Gandhi's time, Narasimha Rao's time, and then in 2002 during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's time which continued till Manmohan Singh's time," he said.
"No party had opposed this process because it is a process of keeping elections clean and keeping democracy healthy," Shah said.
He said the objective of the SIR of electoral rolls is to remove those who have died, add the names of those who have turned 18 and delete foreign nationals one by one.
"I want to say to the House and people -- Can a country's democracy be safe when the prime minister and the chief minister are decided by 'ghuspathiye'," Shah said.
The BJP leader said the Opposition thinks that it is tarnishing the image of the government but in reality they are tarnishing the image of India's democracy.
"They kept on doing vote chori, vote chori, and took out 'ghuspathiye bachao yatra' and we won by 2/3rd majority in Bihar," he said.
The new tradition is that if they lose, they defame the EC and electoral rolls which is not good for the country's democracy.
"If electoral rolls were corrupted, why did you contest elections," Shah asked the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
He said the BJP has lost more elections than it has won, but it never questioned the Election Commission.
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"EVMs stopped election chori and that is why they are worried. Their method of election was not mandate but corrupt practices, and they have been fully exposed," he said.
Opposition worried as people of country do not vote for them and SIR will delete names of illegal immigrants who back them, he said.
Tradition of electoral loss began in 2014 and the Congress blamed EVMs, which were brought by Rajiv Gandhi in 1989, he said.
The EVMs were used for first time in 2004 and then in 2009 elections and on both occasions, the Congress won, but they started complaining only after 2014 loss, he said.
He stressed that Parliament is the biggest panchayat for discussions and the BJP-NDA people never run away from a discussion.
"We asked for having it later for two reasons -- they (Opposition) were asking for discussion on SIR and I believe discussion on SIR cannot be held because it comes under the Election Commission," Shah said.
"When they said we want to discuss election reforms, we agreed immediately. A debate was agreed on electoral reforms, but the majority of opposition members talked of SIR. On this SIR, one-sided falsehoods were being propagated in the last four months and efforts were made to mislead people," he said.
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BJP govt in Bengal will speed up CAA implementation, infiltrators must leave: Modi
Katwa (WB) (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday promised to accelerate the provision of citizenship under CAA for Matua, Namasudra and other refugee communities if the BJP came to power in West Bengal, while warning "infiltrators" to "pack up their bags".
Addressing a rally at Katwa in Purba Bardhaman district, Modi sought to reassure the Matua and Namasudra communities -- a politically influential refugee bloc concentrated in south Bengal -- that their future was protected not by the ruling Trinamool Congress but by the Constitution and the CAA.
The prime minister said a BJP government in Bengal would not only follow the mantra of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,' but would also add 'Sabka Hisaab,' which means every "looter and oppressor" will be held fully accountable.
"I have come to give a guarantee to the Matua, Namasudra and all refugee families of Bengal. You are not here by the grace of any TMC leader. You are here under the protection of the Constitution," Modi said.
"Modi enacted the CAA law so that Matua, Namasudra and all refugee families receive the guarantee of the Constitution (citizenship). As soon as a BJP government is formed here, the work of granting citizenship to refugee families under CAA will be expedited," he said.
The pitch comes a day after the Bengal BJP, in its manifesto, promised "citizenship and rehabilitation for all Hindu refugees" -- a message aimed squarely at Matua and Namasudra voters, many of whom have complained of large-scale deletions from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
But the prime minister paired the citizenship promise with an even sharper attack on alleged illegal immigration.
"The BJP government will free Bengal from yet another major challenge. Whoever has infiltrated India will be driven out," Modi said.
"I will tell every infiltrator to pack up their belongings. It is time to leave," he said, triggering loud cheers from the crowd.
He warned that not only infiltrators, but also those who had "facilitated" them would face action.
In a state where refugee identity and citizenship have remained politically combustible for decades, Modi attempted to turn the issue into a referendum on trust, accusing the TMC of spreading fear among refugee families while failing to protect their interests.
Congratulating the Bengal BJP for its manifesto released a day earlier, Modi said it contained the roadmap to implement the party's six guarantees.
"The BJP has resolved to take Bengal to new heights of development. Modi's guarantee is to transform the fear of TMC's ruthless government into trust, and the entire blueprint for that change is in the BJP manifesto," he said.
Seeking to project confidence, Modi claimed the huge turnout at the rally showed that Bengal was ready for political change.
"This scene is the trailer for the results of May 4. I am witnessing your fervour, your enthusiasm, your energy and your resolve. This is the proclamation of trust triumphing over fear. Bengal is ready for change," the PM added.
Modi also cited the BJP's performance among women voters elsewhere to argue that the party was steadily moving towards victory in Bengal.
"Wherever there is heavy voting and strong participation by women, BJP-NDA has received a massive mandate. In Bengal too, BJP is steadily moving towards victory," he said.
"The 15-year rule of TMC has given nothing but fear to every citizen, every family of Bengal. This election is to eradicate the TMC's fear," he said.
Seeking to match and outbid the TMC's welfare plank, Modi repeatedly referred to what he called the BJP's "three guarantees" for women, youth and government employees.
For women, the BJP has promised a monthly allowance of Rs 3,000.
"Bengal's sisters and daughters will be able to come and go anytime, anywhere. BJP government means complete assurance of women's safety," Modi said.
For unemployed youth, Modi promised age relaxation in government recruitment for those who had crossed the age limit because of what he described as the TMC's "misgovernance".
He also promised implementation of the 7th Pay Commission for state government employees.
The PM sought to sharpen the corruption issue as well, promising a "white paper" on what he called corruption involving TMC ministers, MLAs and syndicates.
"The BJP government will bring a white paper and give a legal account of the corruption of TMC's MLAs, ministers and syndicates," he said.
"BJP will not stop any scheme. BJP will only shut down the shop of corruption and stop TMC's loot," Modi said, accusing the ruling party of falsely claiming that welfare schemes would be discontinued if the BJP came to power.
Modi also used the rally to attack the TMC over the crisis facing potato farmers.
"TMC's deceit has ruined potato farmers. They promised to buy potatoes at MSP, but farmers' crop are rotting," he said.
Modi said Bengal's farmers would receive Rs 9,000 annually under the PM-Kisan scheme -- Rs 6,000 from the Centre and an additional Rs 3,000 from a BJP government in Bengal.
The welfare-heavy pitch was capped with a promise to roll out Ayushman Bharat in Bengal immediately after the BJP forms the government.
"On the day a BJP chief minister takes oath, the very first cabinet meeting will implement Ayushman Bharat Yojana. This is Modi's guarantee," he said.
