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The Union minister’s comments followed a public post by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi advising Union Home Minister Amit Shah not to “confuse” the Prime Minister amid the debate row
Union minister Pralhad Joshi accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (R) of relying on cropped, out-of-context video clips of Union Home Minister Amit Shah (L) speaking on the SIR of electoral rolls. (Image: PTI/File)
Amid an ongoing war of words between the ruling BJP and Rahul Gandhi after the Congress leader challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to an open debate, Union minister Pralhad Joshi accused him of relying on cropped, out-of-context video clips of Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaking on the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
Joshi said Gandhi displayed an absolute lack of preparation on the issue. His comments followed a public post by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha advising Shah not to “confuse” the Prime Minister amid the debate row. He alleged that Gandhi used Shah’s “cropped, out-of-context video”.
“Circulating cropped, out-of-context video of Home Minister Shri @AmitShah ji shows only one thing— @RahulGandhi’s absolute lack of homework on SIR. Rahul ji, the confusion is clearly yours, not ours!” Joshi posted.
“When you win elections, the electoral process is acceptable; when you lose, the same process suddenly becomes questionable. Is this your understanding of democracy?” he asked. “You lost the 2014, 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections even when no SIR was conducted. Will you take responsibility for those defeats or blame something else?”
The friction originated from a social media poll published by Gandhi on November 3, which asked young Indians whether they favoured an open debate between him and Modi. In that post, he tagged several senior BJP figures to help persuade the PM to participate.
Gandhi said he was prepared for an open debate at “any platform, any time, any place”. Responding to Shah’s challenge to raise the subject within Parliament, he posted on X: “Amit Shah ji, don’t confuse Modi ji. Just convince him to have an open debate with me. Any platform, any time. Don’t be afraid.”
Addressing a rally in Haryana’s Karnal on November 5 as part of the BJP’s ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ campaign, Shah challenged Gandhi to a parliamentary confrontation and said the Centre is prepared to convene a special session if the Congress formally requests it.
“If you wish to engage in a responsible discussion, if your concerns hold truth, substance, and logic, then come and discuss them inside Parliament. Let’s face each other head-on! But you won’t be able to handle the answers; as always, you will just run away,” he said.
Echoing this, Joshi dismissed Gandhi’s approach as “political theatrics” and urged him to bring his arguments to Parliament and debate with facts.
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Ask News18Pralhad Joshi accused Rahul Gandhi of displaying a lack of preparation after the Congress leader circulated cropped and out-of-context video clips of Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaking on the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
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Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing im…Read More
November 07, 2026, 14:06 IST
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