Smriti Irani jabs Cong over delay in naming pick from former stronghold

NEW DELHI: Taking a swipe at the Congress over the delay in naming its candidate from Amethi, its former stronghold in Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister Smriti Irani said the only reason why there was so much 'chintan' (deliberations) around the subject in the rival camp was because there is 'chinta' (worry).

Speaking at the Times Now Summit on Wednesday, the Union Minister said, "The Congress lost Amethi for the first time in its history in 2019. Rahul (the Congress's pick from Amethi in 2019) and Priyanka campaigned extensively in the constituency in the hope of keeping its winning streak going. They set out hoping to trounce the BJP but the opposite happened. Recently, the Congress's yatra (Rahul's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra) had a brief stopover in Amethi but the event failed to draw any attention from the public."

In a dig at the grand old party for putting Rahul on the ticket from Wayanad again in Kerala while keeping the suspense around its pick from Amethi, the Union Minister said it shows how the former stronghold no longer features in the party's pecking order. "Can the Congress find anyone to fight Amethi on its symbol? This is, perhaps, the first time that the Congress is scared to declare their candidate from Amethi," Irani said.

Claiming that the BJP, alone, will coast to victories in 399 seats and record its 400th win in Amethi, the Union Minister added, "This statement shouldn't be mistaken for arrogance. We have built (concrete) houses for people, 4 lakh families have been provided with toilets and 12 lakh people were provided with tap water connections. We set up new medical colleges and equipped old ones with new-age medical equipment. There are 13,000 Lakhpati Didis in Amethi alone," Irani added.

Under the 'Lakhpati Didi' scheme, a flagship central initiative, enterprising rural women are imparted training to fly drones in a bid to render assistance in farming.

Also jabbing the Congress over the opening of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which guaranteed special privileges to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Minister said, "The Ram Mandir would never have been a reality had the Gandhis or the Congress still been in power at the Centre. They denied the existence of Lord Ram when in power.

They could not even roll back the special constitutional privileges under Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir." On the mega political showdown over a distasteful social media post on the BJP's Mandi candidate, Kangana Ranaut, allegedly by Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, Irani said, "They want power, not accountability."

While Shrinate denied making the post, claiming that someone with access to her social media account may have done it, the Congress, too, distanced from the statement. Irani said the indecorous social media post was part of the Congress's strategy to vilify a woman they can't fight politically.