Union Home Minister Amit Shah. (File Photo)
India

Amit Shah says govt ready to convene special Parliament session to discuss SIR, challenges Oppn to join debate

Shah accused the Congress of supporting Naxalism and alleged that Rahul Gandhi had backed the Maoists' unconstitutional 'Janatana Sarkar' and recently "mocked Parliament by staging a fake Parliament".

TNIE online desk

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the government is ready to convene a special session of Parliament to hold discussions on Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll and challenged the Opposition to join the debate.

He accused the Congress of supporting Naxalism and alleged that party leader Rahul Gandhi had backed the Maoists' unconstitutional 'Janatana Sarkar' and recently "mocked Parliament by staging a fake Parliament".

Addressing the concluding ceremony of the three-day Chhattisgarh Rajyotsav celebrations in Raipur, Shah said the Narendra Modi government has a clear policy that those who abide by the law would be treated as citizens, while security forces would deal firmly with those who violate it, be it in Bastar, the Northeast or Kashmir.

"Let Parliament function. We are ready to convene a special session to hold discussions on SIR. If you have the courage, come and engage in a discussion before the people of this country. Simply carrying a copy of the Constitution around does not equate to supporting it. One's conduct must be Constitutional," he said.

Accusing the Congress of consistently supporting Naxalism, he referred to a statement purportedly made by then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in 2010, claiming that Maoists were not required to surrender their weapons but should stop violence.

Targeting Rahul Gandhi, Shah alleged that Congress leaders had supported the Maoists' parallel 'Janatana Sarkar', which had its own home minister, chief minister and finance minister, despite having no constitutional authority.

"Rahul Gandhi supported a fake 'Janatana Sarkar', unconstitutional governments and has now made a mockery of Parliament by staging a 'fake' Parliament.

"By conducting a 'mock' parliament, he staged a charade of a discussion. I want to tell Rahul-ji that the Narendra Modi government is prepared to discuss every single issue," he added.

(With inputs from PTI)

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