You were Shown “Magic” by Amethi People: Smriti Irani Hits Back at Rahul Gandhi for PM Remark

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 8th Feb. Union minister Smriti Irani hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, saying the person who was shown “magic” by the people of Amethi was trying to make digs at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

She accused the Gandhi family of not delivering through on development promises made in the Lok Sabha constituency.

Irani chose to use the word “magic,” which was also used by Mr. Gandhi to characterize billionaire Gautam Adani’s stratospheric rise during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on Tuesday in the Lok Sabha.

In an unnamed attack on the Gandhi family, the minister claimed that in 1981, one foundation, which is very famous in Amethi, took control of 40 acres of land for a rent of ₹ 623 on the promise of building a medical facility there.

“For 30 years, the poor people of Amethi were told that a medical college will be opened. But on the land where they were talking about opening a medical college, that family made a guesthouse for themselves,” she said, intervening in the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address.

Irani defeated Mr Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, a pocket borough of the Gandhis.

She also alleged that one Nanhe Lal Mishra, suffering from a serious disease, was turned away by the hospital built on the land owned by “the family” as he had said he should be treated under Prime Minister Modi’s Ayushman Bharat scheme.

“I wish Mishra could have told this to the House, but his voice will not be heard here because he died…. These are the people who were attacking Narendra Modi, taking jibes at him, who allowed a gentleman to die. They still hold 40 acres of land,” Irani said, noting that it was PM Modi who gave a medical college to the people of Amethi.

In another case, she stated that “the family” invited people to open a factory, which then abruptly closed and the land was taken over by the foundation.

“Farmers went to court against the family and got an order from the court, but it disregarded that and continues to occupy the land. And they come to Parliament and talk about the poor,” Irani said.

She also claimed that the Gandhis ruined the Fursatganj airfield by running a family-linked academy and naming two hostels after Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“When they were on the board, they handed over the handling (of the academy) to a foreign firm that has ruined that place and all that is included in a report,” the minister said.

She stated that the Fursatganj airport is now part of the Centre’s UDAN scheme, and that anyone can use it.

In response to the opposition’s allegations, the minority affairs minister claimed that the Modi government has done a lot for minorities, citing the new Haj policy, which has made application forms free. She accused Congress of duping minorities for many years.

Irani also emphasized the development projects that have been undertaken in Amethi since she won the parliamentary seat in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 and accused the Gandhi family of stifling the constituency’s progress, despite having represented it in the Lok Sabha for more than five decades.

She said in Parliament on Tuesday that the Hindi proverbs “diya tale andhera,” “chor ki dadhi mein tinka,” and “ulta chor kotwal ko daate” came to life before her because of Gandhi’s allegations against PM Modi.

Irani also praised the Prime Minister for his efforts to ensure that a tribal woman (President Droupadi Murmu) is elected to the country’s highest constitutional office.