New Delhi, Dec 10 Union Home Minister Amit Shah, mounting a sharp defence of the SIR and the broader electoral reform push, on Wednesday also asserted that neither the law nor democratic norms bar individuals with an RSS ideology from holding key positions in government.
Responding to opposition allegations during a heated debate in the Lok Sabha, Shah said: "They (opposition) said people with an RSS ideology are appointed to important positions. So what’s the objection? Is there any law in this country that says people with an RSS ideology cannot hold important posts? The Prime Minister follows the RSS ideology, the Home Minister follows the RSS ideology, and they came to power through the people’s mandate, not by your grace.:
As the house took up the debate on election reforms, he accused the opposition of spreading "falsehoods" about SIR as he questioned whether democracy could remain safe if “the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister are decided by ‘ghuspethiye’ (infiltrators)".
His remarks triggered uproar, with opposition MPs staging a walkout mid-speech, prompting the Home Minister to remark that they chose to leave instead of hearing a response.
Defending the need for electoral cleansing, Shah recounted what he called historical instances of "voter chori", including the selection of India’s first Prime Minister.
"Sardar Patel got 28 votes, and Jawaharlal Nehru got 2 votes, but Nehru became the Prime Minister," he said, insisting that the opposition resists references to history.
He also launched a pointed attack on West Bengal over the issue of infiltration, noting that of the 2,216-km India–Bangladesh border, 1,653 km is already fenced.
“Only 563 km is left, and it falls entirely in West Bengal. Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat -- everywhere fencing is done. Only Bengal is left,” he said, accusing the state's ruling Trinamool Congress of joining the Congress in a “Save the Infiltrators Yatra” like that of Bihar.
Reiterating the NDA’s stance, he said: "Even if they boycott this two hundred times, we will not allow a single illegal infiltrator to stay in this country. Our policy is to detect, delete their names from voter lists, and deport (them)."
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