Infiltration emerges as the core debate as Amit Shah’s remarks prompt new questions over Bihar’s SIR deletions, missing data on illegal voters, and the unresolved status of 19 lakh people left out of Assam’s NRC.
By Qalam Times News Network
New Delhi | 22 November 2025
Infiltration Debate Returns to Center Stage
Infiltration — that’s the word Union Home Minister Amit Shah brought right back into the national spotlight. Speaking at the BSF Diamond Jubilee event in Bhuj, he declared that the government would “identify every intruder and remove them.”
But the moment the applause faded, one question stood there untouched: How many infiltrators were actually found during Bihar’s SIR process?
What’s striking is that infiltration is being invoked loudly in speeches, but when it comes to hard numbers, the silence from officials is unmistakable.
Bihar SIR: Massive Deletions, No Answers
Shah described the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) as a routine cleansing of electoral rolls. But the numbers raise a different set of questions:
Was this really about illegal voters, or just a large-scale administrative clean-up?
Here’s what happened in Bihar:
- Out of 7.89 crore voters, 7.24 crore submitted forms
- Roughly 65 lakh names were deleted, followed by another 66 lakh
- Meanwhile, 21 lakh new voters were added
The draft list ended up 47 lakh names lighter.
Yet not a single official document tells us how many of these deletions were tied to infiltration or foreign nationals. The Election Commission’s July note mentioned deaths, migration, and duplicate entries — but avoided the words “foreigners” or “infiltrators” entirely.
CEC Rajiv Kumar, in multiple press briefings, carefully sidestepped the same question.
Opposition Calls It a Hidden Citizenship Test
Opposition leaders say the SIR has turned into a “shadow citizenship exam” that risks disenfranchising legitimate voters.
According to them, the government raises the pitch about infiltration, but avoids presenting actual figures — perhaps because the data doesn’t match the rhetoric.
Assam NRC: 19 Lakh in Limbo, No End in Sight
Assam’s NRC story only complicates the picture further.
The 2019 list excluded 19 lakh people, many of whom have been living in the state for decades — both Bengali Hindus and Muslims.
Legally, the process works like this:
- Each excluded person has 120 days to appeal
- Appeals go to Foreigners Tribunals (100 active, 200 more coming)
- Each case is supposed to conclude within six months
- After that comes the High Court and Supreme Court
In reality, the backlog runs into the thousands.
Not one of the 19 lakh has been deported or removed. Their lives remain suspended — neither citizens nor non-citizens.
Here too, the promise of tackling infiltration exists only in political speeches; the implementation remains frozen.
TMC’s Counterattack: ‘Shah Has Failed in His Own Job’
TMC leader Sagarika Ghosh launched a sharp attack, calling Shah an “incompetent” Home Minister. Her argument was simple: if infiltration is still happening, then the responsibility lies squarely with Shah, since the BSF — the force guarding the border — reports directly to him.“If intruders are entering, that’s the failure of your ministry,” she said. “Not anyone else’s.”
Security Concern or Political Play?
The government insists this entire exercise is about national security.
The opposition says it’s a political tool aimed at polarization ahead of key elections.
Bihar’s SIR and Assam’s NRC — taken together — reveal a recurring pattern: infiltration makes for a powerful campaign slogan, but the data behind it is still missing. As West Bengal and Assam inch closer to their elections, this argument is only going to get louder.
