NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to debate allegations of irregularities in electoral rolls during a special session of Parliament.
Speaking at a BJP meeting in Lucknow on Friday, Shah said the party was prepared to discuss the issue in Parliament and had nothing to hide. He accused the Opposition of raising allegations of “vote chori” outside the House instead of taking them up through parliamentary proceedings.
Shah's remarks came ahead of the INDIA bloc's proposed public impeachment programme against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Opposition has been questioning the Election Commission's handling of the revision exercise and has accused the poll body of undermining electoral fairness. The BJP has rejected the allegations.
The proposed public event is a symbolic political protest and does not constitute a constitutional impeachment process. The controversy has added to the political confrontation between the ruling alliance and Opposition parties over electoral rolls.
With inputs from media reports.