'Scared of defeat in Amethi': Smriti Irani takes dig at Rahul, counters 'Shakti' remark

Union Minister Smriti Irani

Union minister Smriti Irani took a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said the destiny of a nation cannot be decided by a man who is scared of being defeated in Amethi.

The minister of women and child development, minority affairs made these remarks while speaking at the 'News18 Rising Bharat Summit’ in New Delhi.

Amethi used to be a Congress stronghold in Uttar Pradesh until 2019, when Rahul Gandhi lost to Smriti Irani by a margin of around 55,000 votes. In fact, Rae Bareli was the only seat won by the grand old party in the last general election, which has now been vacated by former Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

The BJP has once again fielded Smriti Irani from Amethi for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, while the Congress is yet to announce its candidate from the seat.

Speaking further about Amethi, Irani said that when she first went there in 2014, she had to sleep in a warehouse. She added that people there spoke the language of fear and not love.

Separately, Irani also countered Rahul Gandhi's "fight against a shakti" remark and asked, "The Prime Minister has spoken of four 'shakti' in the country. Which of these 'shakti' does Rahul Gandhi want to fight against?"

Gandhi, at a rally in Mumbai, had said that the “fight against Modi is not on a personal level since Modi is a ‘mask’ who works for a ‘Shakti’ (power).”

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also launched a scathing attack over Gandhi's Shakti remark.

Addressing a public meeting at Telangana’s Jagtial, PM Modi raised questions at the INDIA bloc and asked, “How can they talk about ‘Shakti Vinaash’ (destruction of Shakti) in India?” He asked the people of the state, whether they will support someone who wants to “challenge” Shakti?

“Yesterday, INDI Alliance hosted a rally in Mumbai. They declared that their fight is against ‘Shakti’,” the prime minister said, adding that “For me, every daughter, mother, and sister is a personification of ‘Shakti’”.