The Lok Sabha witnessed a dramatic showdown on Wednesday as a heated exchange broke out between Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The tension began during a discussion on electoral reforms and quickly escalated into arguments, accusations and a major walkout by the Opposition.
What triggered the clash?
Amit Shah defended the government’s special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists. He said the exercise was necessary to remove undocumented migrants from the electoral rolls. According to him, the goal was to ensure clean, accurate and secure voter lists.
Rahul Gandhi, however, strongly objected. He challenged Shah to debate the issue publicly and accused the government of “vote theft.” Gandhi insisted that the Opposition’s questions about the SIR exercise had not been answered properly.
Congress calls Shah’s response scripted
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi criticised Amit Shah’s speech, saying the Home Minister was simply reading from a script. He argued that Shah ignored important points raised by leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Kalyan Banerjee and Supriya Sule. Gogoi also rejected Shah’s claim that Congress never approached the Election Commission.
He said Congress had repeatedly held press conferences and submitted complaints. Gogoi questioned why the government did not raise concerns about voter lists during the Lok Sabha elections when, according to him, BJP was aiming for 400 seats.
Opposition walkout sparks uproar
As Shah continued speaking, the Opposition members staged a walkout, causing loud protests and chaos inside the House. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya slammed the move, calling it “shameful.” He said the Opposition had been demanding debates on SIR and EVMs for days but walked out the moment Shah responded.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma praised Shah’s address, calling it a strong reply to what he described as Opposition “propaganda.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi also appreciated the speech, describing it as “outstanding.”
Government defends the reform
Union Minister Piyush Goyal backed the SIR exercise, saying it would make voter lists transparent and trustworthy. He accused the Opposition of walking out because they lacked support from the public.
The heated exchange reflected deep political tensions, turning an ordinary parliamentary debate into one of the most talked-about moments of the Winter Session.
