Union Minister Smriti Irani and the Congress engaged in a fierce war of words over the reports of an alleged bar run illegally by the Minister’s daughter in Goa.
While Irani threatened to take to court the Congress and Gandhis for character assassination of her daughter, the Congress demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack his Cabinet colleague as her daughter has faked documents to run a bar in Goa.
Soon after the Congress leaders held a Press conference and dragged Irani’s daughter into the bar row, Irani hit back saying her daughter’s fault is that her mother has been exposing the corruption of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul in the National Herald case. She asserted her daughter is a first-year college student and does not run any bar.
“My daughter’s fault is that her mother holds a Press conference on the loot of Rs 5,000 crore by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. Her fault is that her mother fought against Rahul Gandhi in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” the MP said, once again challenging Rahul to contest from Amethi on 2024.
Congress chief spokesperson Pawan Khera said that there are serious charges of corruption against Irani’s family. He said that Irani’s daughter - Zoish Irani - is allegedly running a restaurant in Goa, in which a bar is functioning on a “fake license”.
“The license by Smriti Irani’s daughter is in the name of a person who died in May 2021, and the license was taken in June 2022 in Goa. But the person in whose name the license is taken had died 13 months ago. This is illegal,” Khera said at the AICC Press conference.
According to Goa rules, a restaurant can get only one bar license but this restaurant has got two bar licenses, Khera said.
“We demand from the Prime Minister that Smriti Irani should be immediately sacked as a Minister from the Union Cabinet. You owe it to this country, to the youth of this country,” he said.
Congress has claimed it has evidence to prove their allegations. Indian Youth Congress’ national President Srinivas BV even shared a video interview of Zoish where she was seen speaking about international cuisines and new restaurants opening in Goa.
In a statement, the lawyer of Irani’s daughter, Kirat Nagra, said his client is neither an owner nor operating the restaurant called “Silly Souls Goa” and has also not received any show cause notice from any authority whatsoever as alleged.
Narayan Gad, Excise Commissioner of Goa, on July 21 issued a show-cause notice to the restaurant after receiving a complaint from lawyer and activist Aires Rodrigues.
Rodrigues says that the owners had submitted “fraudulent and fabricated documents” to get the licence.
He has also alleged that the BJP Government in Goa has initiated the process to transfer the excise commissioner after the notice was issued.
Responding to Irani’s Press conference, Rodrigues said that “the whole world knows that this upmarket “Silly Souls Cafe and Bar” is managed and run by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani’s family at Bhouta Vaddo in Assagao Village at Goa, and there is enough evidence to this effect”.
He further said that at the hearing regarding the notice on July 29 “we would know about the ghost who runs the show”. He also claimed that Irani’s family owns other prime properties in Goa which should be investigated by the probe agencies.