HYDERABAD / NEW DELHI — Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the opposition INDIA bloc of opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to protect what he described as illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators, addressing a BJP march in Hyderabad held as part of the party's nationwide campaign against the opposition's anti-SIR protests, The Business Standard reported.

Source: The Business Standard

Responding to the opposition's claim that around 13 crore voters had been removed during the revision, Shah gave his own breakdown of that figure: about 6.25 crore voters had shifted to new addresses, around 3 crore were deceased, and about 1 crore were duplicate entries. The remaining 3 crore, he alleged, were people who 'do not even exist' and were 'Bangladeshi infiltrators'. The march, styled 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao', began near the Babu Jagjivan Ram statue in Basheerbagh, Radiance News reported.

Shah alleged that Congress and its allies want bogus entries retained on the rolls to influence elections, described the INDIA bloc's Delhi rally a day earlier as a 'save the infiltrators rally', and said only Indian citizens should have the right to vote. He also said the government was prepared to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss SIR and challenged Rahul Gandhi to debate the issue in the House, according to The Business Standard.

Tuesday: 'Make the list public'

On Tuesday, Congress MP Manish Tewari publicly challenged Shah to disclose the identities of the three crore alleged infiltrators and specify the countries they came from. 'If the Home Minister is claiming that out of the 13 crore names removed from the voter list, three crore belong to infiltrators, then he should make the list of those people public. He should also disclose which countries these people infiltrated from before entering India,' Tewari told reporters, Nation Press reported.

Source: Nation Press

BJP leaders closed ranks behind the Home Minister the same day. Telangana BJP president Ramchandar Rao said Congress wants infiltrator voters to remain on the rolls; Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi called Shah 'absolutely right'; Bihar minister Ram Kripal Yadav repeated the three-crore claim; and Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC accused the INDIA bloc of protecting illegal immigrants, Nation Press and the Tripura Chronicle reported.

The opposition, for its part, alleges that legitimate voters are being removed from the lists and has accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of irregularities in the revision, demanding his resignation. The SIR began with a first phase in Bihar in 2025, a second phase covered 12 states and Union Territories, and a third phase is under way in 19 states and UTs, according to Radiance News. In May, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the revision while clarifying it did not authorise the Election Commission to decide any individual's citizenship.

What is solid

  • Shah made the 3-crore claim at the BJP's Hyderabad padyatra on November 2 and gave the 6.25 crore / 3 crore / 1 crore breakdown of the 13-crore figure
  • Congress MP Manish Tewari on November 3 demanded that the list of the alleged 3 crore be made public, and BJP leaders publicly backed Shah the same day
  • The SIR is an Election Commission revision of electoral rolls that began in Bihar in 2025 and has since expanded in phases

What is only claimed

  • Shah's allegation that the remaining 3 crore deleted entries were 'Bangladeshi infiltrators' — an allegation that has not been independently verified, as Nation Press itself notes
  • The opposition's figure of 13 crore deletions, which Shah disputes through his breakdown of shifted, deceased and duplicate entries

The SIR fight is widening beyond Delhi: the INDIA bloc has announced its next protest in Bengaluru on November 5, demanding the CEC's resignation. Read: SIR fight moves south to Bengaluru