Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday accused the Opposition of shielding illegal immigrants, asserting that infiltrators have “no right to vote” and must be removed from the electoral rolls. Addressing a public meeting in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district, he took sharp aim at the Congress and RJD for opposing the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
Speaking at Punauradham, Shah alleged that the Congress, particularly its leader Rahul Gandhi, was indulging in politics over the voter list revision exercise. “Names of infiltrators must be removed from the voters' lists. They have no right to vote. But the RJD and the Congress are opposing the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar because the names of infiltrators are being deleted from the lists,” he told the gathering.
His remarks come at a time when the electoral roll revision drive has drawn political heat in the poll-bound state, with the Opposition accusing the Centre of misusing the exercise to selectively target voter groups.
On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that over one lakh fake, duplicate, and bulk entries had been detected in the Mahadevapura assembly constituency in Karnataka. He alleged misuse of Form 6 for adding new voters with invalid addresses and called for judicial intervention. “The democracy that we love so much, does not exist anymore,” Gandhi said, warning of what he called a “vote chori model” spreading across the country.
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Shah hit back during his Sitamarhi address, saying Gandhi’s claims were an attempt to deflect attention from the removal of illegal voters. He also extended his criticism to the Opposition’s stance on Operation Sindoor, an anti-terror campaign launched by the Centre. “Terrorist attacks were frequent in India during the UPA regime. But now India is different under Narendra Modi ji's regime. Our soldiers killed terrorists in their hideouts. But RJD and Congress leaders are opposing Operation Sindoor,” he claimed.
Reaffirming the NDA’s electoral strength, Shah declared that the alliance would return to power in Bihar with a thumping majority in the upcoming assembly elections. He used the opportunity to compare the performance of previous RJD governments with that of the current regime.
“The RJD did nothing for the development of Bihar. Lalu Prasad ji, as a central minister, sanctioned ₹1,132 crore for railway infrastructure in Bihar, while our government provided ₹10,066 crore in FY’26,” he claimed.
Shah also accused the RJD of nurturing lawlessness during its tenure in power. “The RJD encouraged hooliganism,” he alleged, adding that the NDA government would ensure development and security for the state.
As the political temperature rises in Bihar ahead of elections, the SIR exercise and alleged voter list manipulations are likely to remain flashpoints, with both camps sharpening their rhetoric.
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