Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Tuesday, mounted a fierce attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the opposition, accusing them of attempting to protect infiltrators under the pretext of opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and warning that the Congress would suffer another major setback in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Shah said the people had understood Gandhi's strategy of getting infiltrators registered as voters and urged the Congress leader to introspect rather than question the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.
"I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that the people of this country have fully understood your strategy of shielding infiltrators under the guise of the SIR, and they will no longer fall for your ruses," Shah said, according to news agency ANI.
The home minister also predicted that the NDA would return to power in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, claiming that the Congress was headed for its fourth consecutive Lok Sabha election defeat.
"I also wish to tell Rahul and his associates to brace themselves for a crushing defeat in 2029. The NDA is set to secure a massive majority in the 2029 general elections, and the Congress is headed for yet another defeat—its fourth consecutive loss," he said.
Shah asserted that the people continued to support Modi, the BJP and the NDA, and accused the Congress of refusing to acknowledge that reality.
Shah accused Gandhi of relying on fabricated media events and false narratives instead of building genuine connections with voters. "You cannot win the trust of the nation's people through fabricated media events and 'Jhooth Ki Goonj'," Shah said, and questioned the Congress leader's ability to represent the country's political sentiment through opposition gatherings.
"You cannot become the voice of the nation merely by mobilising the cadres of fourteen parties to gather a crowd of eight thousand within a span of one and a half kilometres," he said.
According to Shah, the Congress needed to reach beyond political events and connect directly with people in villages, agricultural communities, remote hills, forests and other parts of the country.
He argued that the party's continued reliance on what he called negative politics would not help it regain public support.
"Even today, the negative politics the Congress is pursuing will not benefit them. They need to understand the public and connect with the people," Shah said.
Shah also challenged Gandhi's criticism of the SIR, pointing out that the Congress was attributing the BJP's electoral successes to the revision exercise rather than acknowledging the party's popularity.
"I also wish to ask Rahul ji: is this the result of an 'SIR'? You dismiss the popularity of the BJP and Modi ji by attributing it to an 'SIR'. You need to introspect," he said.
Shah pointed to electoral performances in several states to support his claim that the Congress was losing public support.
Shah's remarks came on a day when Rahul Gandhi and members of the opposition INDIA bloc, alongside civil society representatives, pledged to continue their campaign for what they described as the restoration of the democratic process in the country.
Addressing reporters following deliberations at his residence, Gandhi asserted that political and public resistance against alleged electoral irregularities would continue.
"It is our commitment that the people who have done this -- Mr Modi, who is the main architect, Amit Shah, who is implementor, Gyanesh Kumar and others -- they need to understand that the net is closing around them," Gandhi said.
"We assure you that all would be brought to justice," he added.
