{"id":14010,"date":"2025-09-19T15:53:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T15:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/punish-them-in-elections-amit-shah-says-oppositions-language-is-weakening-democracys-roots-news18-exclusive-politics-news\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T15:53:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T15:53:04","slug":"punish-them-in-elections-amit-shah-says-oppositions-language-is-weakening-democracys-roots-news18-exclusive-politics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/punish-them-in-elections-amit-shah-says-oppositions-language-is-weakening-democracys-roots-news18-exclusive-politics-news\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Punish Them In Elections\u2019: Amit Shah Says Opposition\u2019s Language Is Weakening Democracy\u2019s Roots | News18 Exclusive | Politics News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Union Home Minister said that personal attacks, not debate, are eroding the foundations of India\u2019s parliamentary democracy and must be answered by voters<\/h2>\n
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi. (Image: News18)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has strongly criticised opposition leaders for what he described as \u201clow-level politics” and \u201cpersonal attacks” on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, warning that such practices erode the foundations of India\u2019s democracy.<\/p>\n

In an exclusive interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Shah was asked how he viewed the contrast between Modi\u2019s popularity, including his rapport with global leaders, and the repeated abuses hurled at him by Opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee. Responding, Shah said it was \u201cunfortunate” that politics was being dragged away from principles and reduced to personal attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch low-level politics is like a termite in democracy. It eats away at the very roots,” he said. \u201cThose who use such language and encourage such politics should be punished by the people.”<\/p>\n

\u2018Punish Such Leaders\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Shah said the Opposition\u2019s job is to expose corruption, but they lack such proof against PM Modi and have therefore fallen back on personal abuse. \u201cIf any person engages in corrupt conduct, that is not a private matter; it is a public matter, and it is the duty of the Opposition to expose corruption. But because they cannot find corruption, they resort to baseless talk, abusive words, and, as you mentioned, even making remarks about Modi ji\u2019s mother. This will not strengthen our democratic politics,” he said, urging voters to hold such leaders to account at the ballot box. \u201cSuch people should indeed be punished in elections.”<\/p>\n

\u2018Parliament Is The Biggest Panchayat\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Shah described Parliament as the \u201cbiggest panchayat” in India, stressing that it is meant to be the forum where the ruling party and the Opposition debate national issues on principles and policy. \u201cThere is no bigger forum for such discussions,” he remarked.<\/p>\n

He alleged, however, that Opposition MPs were doing the opposite of what the institution demands. From the very first day of a session, he said, they sought to derail proceedings, even when Vande Mataram was being chanted, and later claimed they were denied a chance to speak. Shah pointed out that members often walked out despite being allotted time by the Speaker, used their interventions for political barbs rather than substantive debate, and repeatedly flouted the rules of the House.<\/p>\n

\u201cParliament cannot function in a freestyle manner,” he cautioned, adding that such behaviour eroded the very purpose of the legislature.<\/p>\n

\u2018Parliament Runs By Rules\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Shah said that parliamentary discipline has been respected since the time of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. \u201cParliament runs by rules, since the time of Rahul Gandhi\u2019s great-grandfather and his grandmother. The ideal MP is someone who is able to properly put forward his or her views within that very framework,” he said.<\/p>\n

While acknowledging that his own words may not change much, Shah stressed that the people of India needed to decide whether Parliament\u2019s time should be wasted on \u201cpolitical theatrics” or devoted to substantive issues. \u201cPrime Minister Modi has always insisted on upholding the multi-party parliamentary democratic system, ensuring parliamentary purity and discipline,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point, the people of this country will have to decide \u2014 should Parliament\u2019s time be wasted on political theatrics, or should it be used for fruitful discussions that lead to decisions in the interest of the people? Be it matters of security, prosperity, employment, industrial policy, cooperative policy, or welfare of crores of poor, should these be the issues that are debated, or should there be just political invectives?”<\/p>\n

WATCH THE INTERVIEW HERE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018We Knew How To Be In Opposition\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Shah also drew a sharp contrast with the BJP\u2019s own conduct when it was in the Opposition. \u201cWe ourselves were in the opposition for ten years. At first, we would protest for a day or two to highlight issues, but then we would debate them,” he recalled.<\/p>\n

He said that if the government still did not agree after debate, his party would approach the courts and demand inquiries or investigations. \u201cIn many cases, the courts did set up inquiries based on our appeals, and the Opposition gripes about that even today. But they don\u2019t want to go anywhere or debate in constitutional forums. They want to remain on the streets, and I suppose that is why the people have kept them on the streets,” Shah said.<\/p>\n

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\"Karishma<\/figure>\n

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Karishma Jain<\/a><\/p>\n

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar…Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar… Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n
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September 19, 2025, 21:05 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

News<\/a> politics<\/a> ‘Punish Them In Elections\u2019: Amit Shah Says Opposition\u2019s Language Is Weakening Democracy\u2019s Roots | News18 Exclusive<\/span><\/div>\n
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Last Updated:September 19, 2025, 21:16 IST The Union Home Minister said that personal attacks, not debate, are eroding the foundations of India\u2019s parliamentary democracy and must be answered by voters Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi. (Image: News18) Union Home Minister Amit Shah has strongly criticised opposition leaders for what…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}