Published Oct 13, 2026 | 9:13 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 13, 2026 | 9:13 PM
Union Minister Amit Shah.
Synopsis: Addressing the media, Amit Shah said the Congress has been losing elections in West Bengal, Tripura and Gujarat for decades, and the debacle continued ever since Rahul Gandhi became its principal leader. He also reminded the Opposition that SIR came into effect only in 2024.
Union Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, 13 October, lashed out at senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is leading a nationwide agitation against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
“The SIR only came into effect after 2024. Ever since you emerged as the principal leader of the Congress—and subsequently as its President and the Leader of the Opposition—the party has consistently lost elections,” Shah said in a press conference.
The home minister’s remarks came after the BJP won the Gujarat civic body polls, taking 38 of the 44 seats in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation. It also secured majorities in the Thara and Okha municipalities.
Shah listed the Congress’s election defeats, saying it had not won elections in West Bengal, Tripura and Gujarat for several decades. “I want to ask Shri Rahul Gandhi directly: is this the result of the SIR? The SIR only came into effect after 2024,” he said.
Further singling out Gandhi, the home minister said the Congress had lost elections ever since he became its principal leader and later the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Shah’s news conference followed a joint press meeting by Gandhi and other INDIA bloc MPs, who reiterated their resolve to continue fighting to restore the country’s democratic process.
“No matter what happens, no matter which institution plays a role or not, political resistance will continue, people’s resistance will continue, and it will triumph,” Gandhi said after hosting a tea party for Opposition leaders at his residence on Tuesday.
AISA national president Neha Bora, who also addressed reporters alongside Gandhi and others, lambasted the BJP for compromising democracy and the Constitution. She said the ruling party could do so since it had no role in making India’s democracy.
INDIA bloc had taken out a massive rally on Monday, 12 October, to the Supreme Court of India, and filed a petition against SIR and the three election commissioners.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
