New Delhi, Dec 10: Union Home Minister Amit Shah turned the Lok Sabha floor electric on Wednesday, terming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as a shield for India’s democracy and accusing the Opposition of weaving “four months of lies” around it.

Intervening in a debate on election reforms in the Lok Sabha, the Home Minister framed SIR as a constitutional safeguard meant to clean voter rolls, block infiltrators, and secure future elections while launching a sweeping attack on the Congress and the INDIA bloc for resisting a process he said was vital to national security.

Shah said that the Opposition had been spreading one-sided lies about the issue of SIR for the last four months in an attempt to mislead the people of the country.

He said SIR means deleting names in cases of death or duplication, adding names when someone turns 18, and identifying and deleting infiltrators from the voter list.

“To ensure that infiltrators do not elect the PM and CMs and make the country unsafe, sanitisation of the voter list is essential, and this very process is called SIR,” Shah said.

He said that the Congress party’s defeats were not due to EVMs or voter fraud, but due to its leadership, and one day, Congress workers would certainly question the leadership.

“EVMs were introduced during Congress rule; the first Lok Sabha election using EVMs was in 2004, which the Congress won. Now that they are losing, they are blaming EVMs for their defeat,” the Home Minister said.

He said that despite talking about EVMs and voter fraud for 11 years, the Congress party had not given a single suggestion to the Election Commission of India on election reforms.

“There are certain families in our country who have engaged in voter fraud for generations,” Shah said.

“There have been three historic instances of voter fraud. First, Nehru Ji became PM despite Sardar Patel Ji receiving more votes. Second, overturning the High Court’s verdict that had annulled Indira Gandhi’s election. Third, as per a recently filed petition, Sonia Gandhi became a voter even before becoming an Indian citizen,” he said.

The Home Minister said that whether the voter list was new or old, the defeat of the Congress and the INDIA bloc is certain.

“BJP’s policy on infiltrators is detect, delete, and deport, whereas the opposition wants to normalise infiltrators, legitimise them, and formalise them by adding them to the voter list,” he said.

Shah said that the Congress did not boycott the Lok Sabha when Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, or Sonia Gandhi were discussed, but they boycotted the House when the issue of infiltrators was raised.

He said that the RSS ideology was to sacrifice for the nation, take the country to the pinnacle of prosperity, and uphold the banner of India’s culture.

“The country has already been partitioned once on demographic grounds, and to ensure future generations do not face the same situation again, SIR is necessary,” the Home Minister said.

He said that the opposition opposes surgical strikes, airstrikes, removal of Article 370, construction of the Ram Temple, removal of infiltrators, the CAA, and the abolition of Triple Talaq.

“This is why we win,” Shah said.

He said Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister who has travelled the most and worked the hardest in the history of India.

“The real reason behind the opposition’s sorrow is the political loss they have suffered because of SIR,” the Home Minister said.

He said that for the opposition, the voter list is “correct” when they win and “incorrect” when they lose.

“Their double standards will no longer work,” Shah said.

He said that SIR is a constitutional process, and by questioning it, the opposition was tarnishing India’s democratic image globally.

“It is the Modi government that included the Leader of the Opposition in the committee for appointing the Election Commissioner; during the Congress era, only the Prime Minister made this decision,” the Home Minister said.

He said that even if the opposition boycotts the House 200 times, they will not allow even a single infiltrator to get voting rights.

“Rahul Ji held a ‘save infiltrators’ march in Bihar. He was wiped out there. TMC is protecting infiltrators in Bengal, and even there, a BJP government will be formed,” Shah said.

He said that the INDIA bloc brought an impeachment motion against a judge in Tamil Nadu who upheld the right of Hindus to worship.

The Home Minister said that the people of the country would never forgive them for this.

“The manner in which Uddhav Thackeray signed the INDIA bloc’s impeachment proposal will not be overlooked by the people of the country,” he said.

New Delhi, Dec 10: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday delivered an emphatic address in Parliament on the Selective Identification and Removal (SIR) process, accusing the opposition of spreading “one-sided lies” over the past four months to mislead the public.

Defending SIR as a constitutional and essential mechanism to maintain the integrity of India’s voter rolls, Shah outlined the government’s rationale, attacked the Congress for alleged double standards, and framed the sanitisation of electoral lists as a national security requirement. Below are the key highlights from his speech.

Here are the highlights:

*The opposition has been spreading one-sided lies about SIR for the last four months in an attempt to mislead the people of the country.

* SIR means deleting names in cases of death or duplication, adding names when someone turns 18, and identifying and deleting infiltrators from the voter list.

* To ensure that infiltrators do not elect the PM and CMs and make the country unsafe, santisation of the voter list is essential — and this very process is called SIR.

* The Congress party’s defeats are not due to EVMs or voter fraud, but due to its leadership, and one day Congress workers will certainly question the leadership.

* EVMs were introduced during the Congress rule; the first Lok Sabha election using EVMs was in 2004, which the Congress won. Now that they are losing, they are blaming EVMs for their defeat.

* Despite talking about EVMs and voter fraud for 11 years, the Congress party has not given a single suggestion to the Election Commission on election reforms.

* There are certain families in our country who are engaged in voter fraud for generations.

* Three historic instances of voter fraud- First: Nehru Ji becoming PM despite Sardar Patel Ji receiving more votes, Second: Overturning the High Court verdict that had annulled Indira Gandhi’s election, Third: As per a recently filed petition, Sonia Gandhi becoming a voter even before becoming an Indian citizen.

* Whether the voter list is new or old, the defeat of the Congress and the INDI alliance is certain.

* BJP’s policy on infiltrators is: Detect, Delete, and Deport; whereas the opposition wants to normalise infiltrators, legitimise them, and formalise them by adding them to the voter list.

* The Congress did not boycott the Lok Sabha when Nehru Ji, Indira Ji, Rajiv Ji, or Sonia Ji were discussed, but they boycotted the House when the issue of infiltrators was raised.

* RSS ideology is to sacrifice for the nation, take the country to the pinnacle of prosperity, and uphold the banner of India’s culture.

* The country has already been partitioned once on demographic grounds, and to ensure future generations do not face the same situation again, SIR is necessary.

* The opposition opposes surgical strikes, airstrikes, removal of Article 370, construction of the Ram Temple, removal of infiltrators, the CAA, and the abolition of triple talaq — this is why we win.

* Prime Minister Modi Ji is the PM who has travelled the most and worked the hardest in the history of India.

* The real reason behind the opposition’s sorrow is the political loss they have suffered because of SIR.

* For the opposition, the voter list is “correct” when they win and “incorrect” when they lose — their double standards will no longer work.

* SIR is a constitutional process, and by questioning it, the opposition is tarnishing India’s democratic image globally.

* It is the Modi government that included the Leader of the Opposition in the committee for appointing the Election Commissioner; during the Congress era, only the Prime Minister made this decision.

* Even if the opposition boycotts the House 200 times, we will not allow even a single infiltrator to get voting rights.

* Rahul Ji held a ‘Save Infiltrators’ march in Bihar — he was wiped out there; TMC is protecting infiltrators in Bengal, and even there a BJP government will be formed

Lucknow/Deoria, Dec 10: Former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur was arrested on Wednesday in connection with an alleged fraud and forgery case related to the allotment of an industrial plot in Deoria district in 1999 and was later remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody by a court, officials said.

Thakur was arrested in the early hours from the Maholi border in Sitapur district after being taken into custody by police in Shahjahanpur while he was travelling by train from Lucknow to Delhi, they said.

According to the police, Thakur allegedly misused his position as the then superintendent of police (SP) of Deoria to facilitate the allotment of an industrial plot by the District Industries Centre (DIC) in the name of his wife, Nutan Thakur, using forged documents, false names and addresses. The plot was later sold for alleged monetary gain.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (Lucknow West) Vishwajeet Shrivastava said the case was registered on the complaint of Sanjay Sharma, a resident of Rajajipuram in Lucknow, under the Tal Katora police station.

“The complaint alleged that forged application forms, affidavits, treasury challans and transfer deeds were used for the allotment, while Amitabh Thakur, then posted as SP Deoria, allegedly provided protection and assistance by misusing his official position,” the officer said.

An FIR was registered on September 12, under sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 34 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, following which a special investigation team (SIT) was constituted by the DCP (West), police said.

During the investigation, documentary evidence was collected from Deoria district, verification of the alleged false identities and addresses was carried out in Bihar, and statements of witnesses were recorded, they added.

Senior officials said Thakur was detained earlier by the Shahjahanpur police in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday after the Lucknow Police alerted them that he was travelling to Delhi by train. Shahjahanpur Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi said the local police intercepted the Lucknow-Delhi AC Superfast Express around 2 am and handed Thakur over to the Lucknow Police as he was required to be produced before a Deoria court.

Later in the day, Thakur was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate Manju Kumari in Deoria, who sent him to 14 days’ judicial custody.

District Government Counsel (Criminal) Rajesh Mishra said a separate case in the matter was also registered at Deoria Sadar Kotwali under similar sections. He added that the complainant had earlier even written to the president of India seeking action.

The police said elaborate security arrangements were made in the court campus during Thakur’s production, including barricading at the main gate.

While being taken to court, Thakur told reporters that he feared for his life and would seek protection from the court.

He argued his case himself during the hearing without engaging a lawyer and sought several security-related directions, including access to spectacles, pen and paper in jail, and assurance of personal security, officials said.