'Kisi bhrasht officer ne...': Amitabh Bachchan explains how dead man’s name stayed on voter list as Smriti Irani attacks Rahul Gandhi with AI-edited Bhoothnath video

BJP National General Secretary Smriti Irani on Thursday took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi and the Congress amid the political row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. She shared a video on X and challenged the opposition to explain its stand on the exercise. “You can wake someone who is genuinely asleep, but not someone acting blind just to mislead the nation! SIR Explain!” Irani wrote while sharing the clip.

Rahul Gandhi appears in place of Boman Irani in edited video

The video is an AI-edited version of a scene from Bhoothnath Returns, featuring Boman Irani and Amitabh Bachchan, with Rahul Gandhi replacing Boman Irani. The dialogue revolves around a deceased person whose name allegedly remains on the electoral rolls. The character portrayed by Rahul Gandhi says in Hindi, “Sabko pata hai ye mara hua hai, aur vote nahi kar sakta” (Everyone knows that he is dead and cannot vote).

The dialogue continues, “Bas rules ka galat istemaal karke is baat ko saabit nahi hone de raha hai...” (They are misusing the rules to prevent this from being proved).

Amitabh Bachchan’s character alleges vote was cast in his name

In the scene, Amitabh Bachchan’s character claims that his name was not removed from the electoral rolls despite his death. He also alleges that a vote was cast in his name during a previous election. “Pichhle election mein kisi neta ne mere naam se vote dalwa diya,” the character says (In the previous election, a politician got a vote cast in my name). The dialogue also refers to election office documents as evidence of the voting record.

The claims made in the film scene do not, by themselves, establish that any electoral irregularity involving Rahul Gandhi took place.

Smriti Irani targets opposition over SIR controversy

Irani’s post comes amid the ongoing political confrontation over the SIR exercise. The Congress and other opposition parties have raised concerns about the revision of electoral rolls, while the BJP has criticised the opposition’s campaign against the exercise.

The dispute has intensified political exchanges over the revision process, the Election Commission’s role and concerns surrounding voter lists.