KARNAL: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday accepted the debate challenge posed by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, while countering with an offer to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Addressing a massive rally in Karnal during the culmination of the BJP’s ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ foot march, Shah dismissed the opposition’s public rallies as ineffective political gimmicks. He asserted that Parliament remains the appropriate forum to address substantial issues rather than staging protests on the streets.

“If you 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.

Directly challenging the Congress leader, Shah stated that the Union government is fully prepared to hold a discussion if the opposition follows proper constitutional channels.

“I want to challenge Rahul Gandhi directly. You challenge PM Narendra Modi to a discussion? If you want a discussion, just write a letter to the Prime Minister. We are ready to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the SIR exercise,” Shah declared.
Aims Focus on Electoral Defeats and ‘Culture of Boycotts’

Accusing the opposition of disrupting parliamentary proceedings and resorting to boycotts as a party culture, the Home Minister questioned the narrative built around electoral roll revisions. He pointed out that the Congress suffered heavy electoral setbacks in 2014, 2019, and 2024, as well as in recent state polls, long before the current SIR debate took center stage.

“Where was the SIR in 2014? You were completely wiped out. Where was SIR in 2019? You lost. There was no SIR in 2024 either, yet you lost again,” Shah remarked. Using a childhood anecdote about a losing team blaming the referee, he criticized the opposition for discrediting constitutional bodies whenever electoral outcomes fail to favor them.

The rally in Karnal saw participation from prominent state and national leaders, including Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, as the ruling party sharpened its counter-offensive against the INDIA bloc’s ongoing protests.