SIR is voter-list purification, says Amit Shah; calls Bihar win mandate against infiltrators in country

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the BJP-led NDAs sweeping victory in the Bihar assembly elections reflected a strong public mandate against infiltrators, and accused Opposition parties of shielding illegal immigrants by resisting the Election Commissions Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Speaking at the BSFs 61st Raising Day celebrations in Bhuj, Kutch, Shah said parties opposing the SIR exercise want to ensure that names of infiltrators remain on the voters list. He described the SIR as a purification process crucial for protecting Indias democratic system. Stopping infiltration is essential not only for national security but also for safeguarding our democracy. Some political parties are weakening the anti-infiltration campaign, Amit Shah said, adding that the government is committed to deporting every single infiltrator. Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress in poll-bound West Bengal, have alleged that the SIR could disenfranchise lakhs of valid voters. Shah countered that no political party supporting infiltrators will gain public support. The Bihar election was a clear mandate against infiltrators, he said. The NDA won over 200 seats in the 243-member Assembly, decimating the Mahagathbandhan. The Home Minister also hailed the BSFs role in counter-insurgency and anti-Naxal operations. He said combined efforts of security forces will make India free from the Naxal menace by March 31, 2026. In Chhattisgarh, he noted, the BSF has secured the surrender of 127 Maoists, arrested 73 and neutralised 22. EC working on 'sinister design' to 'destroy' democracy, Opposition parties through SIR: Congress