Amid a controversy over alleged funding by a US agency for raising voter turnout in India, the Congress on Tuesday accused BJP leader Smriti Irani of being the "real agent" of billionaire investor George Soros.
The Congress used Irani's profile of being a former USAID "goodwill ambassador" to attack the former Union minister.
Congress leader and Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge, in a post on X, said, "According to the Government's official website, Ms. Smriti Irani's bio states that she has served as the USAID 'Goodwill Ambassador' to India." "Does this imply that BJP politicians are the real agents of George Soros?" he asked.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera responded to Kharge's post, saying, "This is brilliant. We finally have the answer to BJP's favourite question - Rasoe Mein Kaun Tha? (who was in the kitchen)." "The actual agent of George Soros turns out to be @smritiirani," Khera said in a post on X.
Refuting the allegations, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said the World Health Organization (WHO) appointed Smriti Irani as the Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) Goodwill Brand Ambassador from 2002 to 2005. At the time, she was a household name due to the immense popularity of the television serial "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi", he said.
"The WHO campaign featuring Smriti Irani was endorsed by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), among others, which permitted promotional material to be displayed on its buses. Sheila Dikshit was the Chief Minister of Delhi then, and Pawan Khera served as her personal assistant, handling trivial tasks like carrying her chappals and suitcase. Matters of actual significance, such as this campaign, were likely above his pay grade at the time.
"Here is an excerpt from a report by IIM Indore, which documented the program's success. Do I even need to mention that the Congress-led UPA was in power between 2004 and 2005?" the BJP leader said in a post on X.
"The Congress should stop obsessing over Smriti Irani. The fact that she defeated Rahul Gandhi at the hustings will remain a permanent nightmare in their memory," he said.
This led to a war of words between Malviya and Khera.
Khera hit back at Malviya to say that the "BJP IT cell coolies are invoking Sheila Dikshit as the one who started the WHO ORS initiative, and thinking they will be able to embarrass us with that. It is something to be proud of".
"It is you who first demonise USAID, Soros, global cooperation, and then hide behind the so called 'external interference' to distract attention from your domestic failures. When you get caught with your pants down, you resort to foolish whataboutery.
"We recognise the role of global cooperation in governance and geopolitics," Khera said.
Asking the BJP leader to go back and ask their master how much money did USAID give to the initiatives of his government, Khera said, "Ask him why did USAID support cashless economy. Ask him under whose pressure did he bring demonetisation." The BJP has been attacking the Congress over USAID funding in elections, after the US administration stopped the funding.
The BJP has also been attacking the Congress leadership of being "agents" of George Soros, who is known to have an anti-India stance.
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