Amit Shah demands removal of “Bangladeshi infiltrators” from voter rolls, targets Rahul Gandhi at Bettiah rally

By A Staff Reporter

Bettiah, Bihar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday accused opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of defending alleged “Bangladeshi infiltrators” and called for their removal from electoral rolls while addressing an election rally in Ramnagar, Bettiah. “Tell me, whether or not, we should eliminate names of Bangladeshis from the voter's list? … I want to ask — should Bangladeshi infiltrators decide who will be the CM?” Shah asked the crowd, according to video clips and agency reports. 

Shah linked his remarks to recent political skirmishes over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar, accusing the INDIA bloc and Congress of opposing the SIR to protect a vote bank of alleged infiltrators. He claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent yatras amounted to shielding those the BJP describes as outsiders, and reiterated the party line that names of ineligible entrants should be struck from the voters’ list. 

The Home Minister asserted the BJP would continue efforts to detect and remove “infiltrators” from the country, saying the party would not allow persons he described as foreign nationals to influence the state’s political future. Shah’s remarks come amid an intensified campaign in Bihar where the SIR has become a flashpoint, drawing criticism and counter-accusations from opposition parties who say the exercise risks disenfranchising genuine voters.