Amit Shah slams Congress for not trusting Jaishankar's statement
says it will sit in opposition for 20 more years
New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI): Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday slammed the Congress for not trusting the statement of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Operation Sindoor and instead believing US President Donald Trump, and said that is why it is sitting in the opposition and will remain there for 20 more years.
"They (opposition) do not have faith in the minister of external affairs who has taken oath as a member of the Indian government. They trust some other country. I know the importance of foreign (opinion) in their party, but it does not mean that they should impose this view on Parliament," he said in a brief intervention in the Lok Sabha when Jaishankar was speaking during the discussion on Operation Sindoor.
Jaishankar has taken oath as a minister and is responsible for what he is saying, Shah said.
The external affairs minister asserted that at no stage in any conversation with the US was there any linkage of trade with Operation Sindoor, and the request for halting the military action came from the Pakistani side through the DGMO channel.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that his country mediated "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan, and that he used trade to bargain so that the two countries would come around to halt military action.
Congress members have seized on his remarks to target the government.
India has repeatedly denied Trump's suggestions.
Shah also urged Speaker Om Brila to impress upon the Opposition to stop interrupting when the minister was speaking, saying it would be otherwise difficult for the ruling alliance leadership to stop its members from interjecting when opposition members speak.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to speak in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
