Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, 28 May launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and opposition parties, accusing them of running a nationwide campaign against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Speaking at an event in Ahmedabad, Shah asserted that a recent court verdict had upheld the SIR as entirely constitutionally valid.

Shah's Core Charge Against the Opposition

Addressing a gathering at the inauguration of new hostel facilities at Mata Umiya Dham in Ahmedabad, Shah accused the opposition of approaching the Supreme Court with allegations of 'vote theft' after the ECI launched the SIR process.

'When the SIR was started by the Election Commission, Rahul Gandhi and his allied parties launched a campaign across the country alleging vote theft. They went to the Supreme Court and filed several cases,' Shah said.

He then pointed to what he described as a decisive judicial outcome. 'Just the other day, the complete verdict came, and it declared that the SIR is entirely constitutionally valid,' he said.

West Bengal and the Infiltration Argument

Shah invoked the recent West Bengal elections to reinforce his position, claiming that voters in the state had endorsed the SIR process and expressed opposition to illegal infiltration.

'In the Bengal elections, the people of Bengal showed that they stand with the SIR and that infiltration should not happen in the country,' he said.

He went further, claiming a reversal in infiltration trends at the border. 'Earlier, five to 10 thousand infiltrators used to enter every day, whereas now five to 10 thousand have started going back every day,' Shah said.

This comes amid the Union Home Ministry's announcement of a Demographic Change Commission, which Shah said would study 'unnatural demographic changes', investigate their root causes, and explore legal remedies.

Citizenship and Voting Rights: The BJP's Framing

Shah framed the SIR debate as a fundamental question of citizenship and democratic rights, directly linking it to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s governance record under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

'The Narendra Modi government of the Bharatiya Janata Party has established that the right to decide the future of this country should belong only to the citizens of this country and not to infiltrators who have entered the country,' he said.

The remarks signal that the BJP intends to keep the SIR and infiltration issues at the centre of its political messaging, particularly ahead of future electoral contests.

The Inauguration Event

The occasion for Shah's address was the inauguration of the J.S. Patel Hostel and the Tapasvi Kumar Arvind Patel Girls' Hostel at Mata Umiya Dham in Ahmedabad. The two facilities, built at a reported combined cost exceeding ₹170 crore, are expected to accommodate approximately 1,600 students.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel, several BJP leaders, ministers, and representatives of the Umiya Mata Sansthan were also present at the event.

With the Demographic Change Commission now constituted and the Supreme Court having upheld the SIR's constitutional validity, the political battle over voter rolls and citizenship is far from over.