Congress consistently lost polls under Rahul, stop blaming SIR: Shah
What's the story
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should stop blaming the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls for his party's election defeats. "The SIR only came into effect after 2024. Ever since you emerged as the principal leader of the Congress, and subsequently as its president and the Leader of the Opposition, the party has consistently lost elections," Shah told reporters in Delhi.
Leadership critique
He asked Gandhi to introspect
He asked Gandhi to introspect instead of blaming electoral processes and predicted that the Congress would lose the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
His comments came after the BJP won 90 out of 104 seats in three urban local bodies in Gujarat, including Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation.
"The massive victory in Gujarat reflects the mood of the voters...and indeed India continues to stand like a rock behind Narendra Modi...the Congress has not won a single election here in 41 years," he said.
Question
Shah mentions by-poll defeats
He then posed this question to Gandhi: "Do you attribute this result to the SIR? Do you dismiss the popularity of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi?"
"This is a matter that demands serious introspection. Recently, by-elections were held in three states: West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. The Congress did not win a single seat even there," he said.
Outreach criticism
Shah slams Gandhi's 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' program
Shah also criticized Gandhi's student outreach program, 'Chhatron Ki Goonj,' saying, "You can no longer gain the trust of the people by fabricating media events and 'Jhooth Ki Goonj.'"
He said Gandhi could not claim to represent the country by mobilizing opposition leaders and other groups for the anti-SIR protests in Delhi.
"The nation's voice is in the fields, barns, villages, remote hills, forests, and even on the banks of rivers. You have no reach there," he said.
Grassroots appeal
Resistance against alleged irregularities in SIR would continue: Gandhi
Gandhi earlier hosted high tea for leaders from the opposition INDIA bloc and student bodies at his residence.
After the meeting, he said that the "resistance" against the alleged irregularities in the SIR would continue.
"No matter what happens, no matter which institution plays a role or not, political resistance will continue, people's resistance will continue and it will triumph," Gandhi said.