Hyderabad: Telangana Government advisor and senior Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir challenged Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his three-crore infiltrators claim. He demanded documentary evidence and questioned the Centre’s border security record after more than 12 years of BJP control over the Union Home Ministry.
Reacting to Shah’s remarks, Shabbir Ali sought details on how authorities identified the alleged infiltrators. He demanded evidence of their nationality, identity documents and voter registration. He also asked what action the Centre had taken against them.
“If Amit Shah claims that three crore infiltrators were found on India’s electoral rolls, let him produce the evidence,” Shabbir Ali said. He questioned how these individuals entered India and obtained identity documents. Political speeches, he said, could not answer such questions.
Shabbir Ali pointed out that the BJP had controlled the Union Home Ministry since May 2014. Rajnath Singh headed the ministry from 2014 to 2019, followed by Amit Shah from May 2019. Therefore, he said, the BJP must answer questions about border security, intelligence and internal security.
“If these infiltrators entered during the BJP’s tenure, it represents a massive failure of the Centre’s security arrangements,” he said. If they entered before 2014, he asked why successive Home Ministers had failed to identify them. He also questioned the role of intelligence agencies and border security forces.
The Congress leader highlighted what he described as contradictions between Shah’s claim and Election Commission statements. He recalled that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had not disclosed a specific number of infiltrators identified during Bihar’s SIR. Moreover, a subsequent investigation reportedly found no provision in the Commission’s software to classify deleted voters as foreign nationals.
Shabbir Ali asked whether the Home Ministry had conducted a separate investigation. He questioned whether Shah was presenting political allegations as established facts. The Centre, he said, could not claim credit for national security while blaming opposition parties over illegal immigration.
Infiltrators claim and questions over voter deletions
Shabbir Ali said the larger concern involved nearly 10 crore other names reportedly deleted or excluded during the SIR exercise. BJP leaders attributed these removals to deceased voters, shifted residents and duplicate registrations. However, he questioned whether authorities had adequately verified these cases.
Even accepting Shah’s three-crore claim for argument’s sake, Shabbir Ali asked what happened to the remaining 10 crore voters. He sought details on how many people authorities contacted personally. He also asked how many were wrongly classified as dead or shifted and how many genuine voters lost registration.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations that living voters were wrongly declared dead, Shabbir Ali demanded an independent review of disputed deletions. He urged the Election Commission to publish booth-wise and constituency-wise records. These should cover deletion reasons, verification, objections, corrections and pending appeals.
The data, he said, should protect personal privacy while allowing citizens to verify their status. It should also help affected voters challenge wrongful exclusions. Shabbir Ali stressed that removing duplicate entries and deleting genuine voters were entirely different matters.
Electoral rolls must remain accurate, but accuracy cannot justify disenfranchisement, he said. Every eligible citizen has a democratic right to vote. Accordingly, he demanded a transparent and time-bound mechanism to restore wrongly deleted names.
Shabbir Ali also questioned why Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had not addressed allegations of “vote chori” with detailed records. He urged the CEC to answer the allegations directly rather than allowing political leaders to speak on his behalf. He also reiterated the demand for Kumar’s resignation.
Referring to Sunday’s INDIA bloc rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, Shabbir Ali claimed the opposition’s electoral campaign had unsettled the BJP leadership. He said subsequent mobilisation by Shah, BJP national president Nitin Nabin and other leaders reflected the impact of Rahul Gandhi’s campaign.
The Congress leader said counter-rallies and political accusations could not replace accountability. He demanded an independent examination of voter deletions to restore public confidence. Shah, he said, must substantiate the infiltrators claim and explain the remaining 10 crore deletions.
