New Delhi: Facing a second wave of mass protests in a span of three months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah have responded to calls for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by choosing to attack Congress and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, without addressing the core concern of the disenfranchisement of over 13 crore voters.Modi on Thursday, October 22, accused the Congress of being a “parijibi” (parasite) that does not let anyone progress, and undermines genuine dissenting movements exposing the government’s shortcomings. He also said the party had come under the grip of “deemagi naxals”.Shah, on the other hand, claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would remain in power for 30 years and accused the Congress of “protecting infiltrators” in the name of “vote theft”. He said, “You cannot gather party cadre from neighbouring states, stage protests in Delhi to reject the people’s mandate.”The prime minister and the home minister’s statements on Thursday came against the backdrop of continued protests in the national capital demanding the CEC’s resignation since October 2, during which both Modi and Shah had remained silent. Over the month, opposition parties, civil society groups, left-backed student organisations and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) hit the streets, as the Delhi Police which functions under Shah, responded with force and widespread detentions. While Modi or Shah did not make any mention of the brutal police action being used to suppress protesters, or provided any explanation for why they did not come to parliament during the monsoon session when the opposition demanded a discussion on excessive police force during the July protests, both focused their narratives on attacking Gandhi and the opposition.Modi, while addressing the NDTV World Summit on Thursday, without naming Gandhi, said ,“Some people are dreaming of disorder [in India].”“While the world is in search of a new order, some people are dreaming of disorder in India. When there is disorder in the world, the image of a strong India should be projected. Instead some individuals want to destroy India’s reputation, they are defaming India abroad and begging foreign nations to interfere in India. How long will Congress put the nation at stake to launch its failed product,” he said.He then went on to call the Congress a parasite, and accused the party of being under the grip of deemagi naxals – a term he first used during his Independence Day speech, that has since become one of his favourite refrains. Modi added:“Those who wish to express their opposition to the government through democratic means, are drowned out by the Congress. Those honest critics who are opposed to the government find their voices drowned out by the Congress’ screaming and shouting. We have seen this in parliament when opposition MPs are not allowed to speak. Such movements that want to improve the system are essential in a democracy but the Congress does not allow it. Congress has become that parasite that does not allow anyone to progress. Deemagi naxals have got such a grip over the minds of the Congress that they have lost the ability to think for themselves. Those who used to destroy jungles, have now entered the Congress to destroy the country.”Shah, meanwhile, addressed the protests against the Election Commission (ECI) more directly during another event in Delhi to launch projects related to the Yamuna river. He said Gandhi would not get a chance to come to power for 30 years.“Given the kind of negative politics you are pursuing, your government will never be formed. Remember my words for the next 30 years,” he said. He noted that this 30-year period would run from 2014.Previously, on September 24, Gandhi had, at a press conference, replayed Shah’s speeches making this exact claim and remarked that it may mean that the ruling party knows something about the election process that others don’t.While Shah did not take Kumar’s name, he accused the Congress of doublespeak on the working of the ECI, by pointing to the party’s electoral victories in Telangana and Kerala.“Elections were recently held in Kerala,” said Shah, “The voter list was the same, the Election Commissioner was the same and the EVMs were the same. Did you take an oath? You won the election, so the ECI was good.”“You won in Telangana, so the ECI and voter list were good. You won in Himachal Pradesh, so the ECI and voter list were good. In Tamil Nadu, the people you supported won, so the ECI and voter list were good,” he said. More than 24 lakh voters were deleted in Kerala’s SIR process and close to 98 lakh in Tamil Nadu, on account of being deceased, shifted or absent. These deletions sparked serious concerns, with people pointing out that while the voter list was shrinking due to the SIR – on account of those who had moved away or died – it was not expanding in states or regions where migrant workers were moving to. The Telangana assembly election was held in 2023 and the Himachal Pradesh assembly election in 2022, both before the SIR. While Shah accused the Congress of “protecting infiltrators” through its “vote theft” charge, he did not mention that the ECI is yet to provide any figures of the number of alleged illegal immigrants found after the conduct of the SIR.“These double standards will not work, Rahul ji. The public has understood you. You cannot gather party cadres from neighbouring states, stage protests in Delhi and reject the people’s mandate,” said Shah.