Hitting out at Congress national president at his home turf, Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said the grand old party was daydreaming that Rahul Gandhi would be the next prime minister of the country when the fact was that it would be difficult for him to win another election from Amethi.
“These Congress people are daydreaming that Rahul Gandhi will become the next PM whereas the fact is even people in Amethi rejected Congress in the 2017 assembly polls. The partners of mahagathbandhan have refused to accept Rahul as their PM candidate,” Smriti Irani told reporters in Amethi during her day-long visit on Friday.
“Rahul Gandhi ko mahagathbandhan mein is tarah ka aashirvaad na Mayawati se prapt hua hai, na Akhilesh se hua hai, na Mamata se hua hai, toh Mungerilal ke sapne dekhne hain toh kisne mana kiya hai (Rahul Gandhi has not been given blessings by mahagathbandhan leaders like Mayawati, Akhilesh or Mamata. No one can stop him from daydreaming),” Irani said.
The statement of the Union minister came in the wake of posters put up by Congress in Amethi claiming that Rahul Gandhi would be the next prime minister of the country.
Irani said this region elected members of Gandhi family for last many decades but the Amethi parliamentary constituency witnessed development only during Narendra Modi’s regime. “The first CT scan unit was inaugurated today. This shows how developed this region was during Congress rule,” she said.
Irani inaugurated a CT scan unit at the district hospital in Gauriganj and distributed woollen clothes to the poor in Amethi.
When asked about Ram temple, the Union minister said that the Prime Minister had clarified the issue and there was no need to comment after his statement.
“But Rahul Gandhi should answer the PM’s question as to why Congress lawyers are trying to create hurdles in early decision on Ayodhya case,” she said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s firebrand leader also questioned Rahul Gandhi over the reported statement of the new Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister regarding the migrant work force from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
“Why was Rahul silent when Madhya Pradesh CM spoke against UP and Bihar migrants? How will he face people of Amethi today?,” she asked.
The Union minister’s statement comes after a poster war broke out in Amethi on the statement of MP Chief Minister Kamal Nath about jobs of youths from UP and Bihar.
The posters pasted in different parts of Amethi, including Gauriganj, asked the Congress president to reply to the statement of MP CM about UP and Bihar youths.
Kamal Nath had commented that due to the migrant youths from UP and Bihar, the youths of MP were not getting jobs.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav too had opposed this statement though his single MLA in MP is supporting the Congress government.
The poster said, “Sapa ke aashirvaad se, Congress party ke Madhya Pradesh ke mukhyamantri Shri Kamal Nath dwara Uttar Pradesh ke logon ko rojgar se hatane par Congress adhyaksh Rahul Gandhi jawab do (With the blessings of SP, Congress CM in Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath, is planning to remove the people of UP from jobs. Congress president Rahul Gandhi should give a reply).”