A fresh war of words has erupted between the BJP and Congress over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi questioning Union Home Minister Amit Shah's changing position on discussing the exercise in Parliament.
On Friday, Gandhi shared a video on X featuring two separate statements by Shah, one from December 10, 2025, and another from November 5, 2026, which he claimed contradicted each other.
“Amit Shah ji, don't confuse Modi ji. Just convince him to have an open debate with me. Any platform, any time. Don't be afraid,” Gandhi wrote.
In the earlier clip, recorded during a parliamentary discussion on Gandhi's 'vote chori' allegations, Shah said SIR could not be debated in Parliament as the matter fell under the Election Commission of India (ECI), an independent constitutional body.
However, speaking at a BJP rally in Haryana's Karnal on Thursday, Shah said the government was prepared to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss SIR.
What Did Amit Shah Say To Rahul Gandhi?
Responding to Gandhi's repeated challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an open debate, Shah asked the Congress leader to write to the Prime Minister if he genuinely wanted a discussion.
Addressing the BJP's 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy' foot march, the Home Minister said the government was ready to hold a special parliamentary session to take up the issue.
"If you (Rahul Gandhi) wish to engage in a responsible discussion, if your concerns hold truth, substance, and logic, then come and discuss them inside Parliament. Let's face each other head-on! But you won't be able to handle the answers; as always, you will just run away," Shah said.
He also accused Gandhi and the Congress of disrupting parliamentary proceedings and taking political battles to the streets instead of participating in discussions inside the House.
Rahul Gandhi's Open Debate Challenge To PM Modi
Gandhi has repeatedly challenged PM Modi to an open debate amid the political row over alleged electoral irregularities and his accusations against the BJP.
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On Wednesday, he renewed the challenge, saying he could prove within five minutes that the Prime Minister was a 'deshdrohi' (traitor). He also suggested that the discussion could take place on any platform, with the venue and moderator chosen by the Prime Minister.
Gandhi had earlier alleged that the Opposition was being labelled anti-national and demanded that PM Modi respond to his claims about alleged foreign connections.
The SIR exercise has remained a major point of confrontation between the Opposition and the government. Opposition parties have alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls and demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with a detailed probe into their allegations.