The Congress on Tuesday hit back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's challenge to debate the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in a special session of Parliament, demanding that he first secure the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and suspend the exercise.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said Shah should demonstrate his seriousness about holding a parliamentary debate by getting Kumar to resign, referring to the CEC as the Home Minister's "hatchet man".
Ramesh also demanded that the government share its proposals on delimitation with the Opposition well in advance and convene an all-party meeting to discuss them.
In a post on X, the Congress leader pointed out that 82 days had passed since the Monsoon Session of Parliament was adjourned sine die, but the session had not yet been prorogued.
He alleged that Shah was keeping open the possibility of convening a special session to pass the Delimitation Bills with a "super-tainted two-thirds majority" in the Lok Sabha. While the contents of the proposed Bills were not known, their intent was clear, he claimed, accusing the BJP of seeking to avert an electoral setback in 2029.
Taking a swipe at Shah, Ramesh said the Home Minister had previously refused to allow a debate on SIR when the Opposition demanded one during the Monsoon Session, arguing that the exercise fell within the Election Commission's domain.
"Meanwhile, the self-styled Chanakya, the master of bluff, bombast and bluster says he is ready for a Special Session to discuss vote chori," he said.
"Why doesn't he have the courage to convene an all-party meeting to discuss these proposals in detail?" Ramesh asked, referring to the proposed delimitation exercise.
His remarks came a day after Shah challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to debate allegations of electoral irregularities, including SIR and electronic voting machines (EVMs), in Parliament.
Addressing a BJP 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy' padayatra in Hyderabad, Shah said the government was ready to convene a special session of Parliament and asked Gandhi to participate in the debate.
Dismissing the INDIA bloc's rally in Delhi on Sunday as a "save infiltrator" rally, Shah questioned the Congress's allegations against EVMs, asking how the party had formed governments in states such as Telangana if the machines were faulty.
He also accused the Congress of attempting to stall the SIR exercise to protect alleged infiltrators from Bangladesh whose names were on electoral rolls, asserting that the BJP would remove every such infiltrator.
Shah further said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would "shred Congress into pieces" in a parliamentary debate and accused the Opposition party of seeking publicity through "anarchy".
(With inputs from PTI)
