‘There is a boy at home…’: Smriti Irani takes a dig at Priyanka Gandhi and her brother Rahul
Union Minister Smriti Irani took a dig at Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s slogan “I am a girl, I can fight” and said on Thursday, “There is a boy at home, but cannot fight”. Irani also satirized former Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav in a program of a private news channel. Irani said, “The election in Uttar Pradesh will be fought on the issue of development and we hope that discussions will take place on policy and development and strengthening democracy.” Announcing the formation of the BJP last month, the slogan “I can fight the girl” was given. Referring to the slogan, Irani said it meant “there is a boy at home, but cannot fight”.
The Union Minister for Women and Child Development hit back at Priyanka Gandhi’s proposal to give 40 per cent tickets to women candidates, saying, “It means that she is saying that she does not want to give 60 per cent tickets to women.” Said, “I am not saying that people should not try in politics and democracy. Victory and defeat are part of politics. I too lost in 2014 but the question is how much people have faith in your efforts.” Referring to Rahul Gandhi, Irani said, “Do people have this feeling about that person as well?” Said that women leaders should not be expected to work only for the women members of the society.
Asked whether the BJP works on the formula of polarization, he said, “Do you think the citizens of this country cannot do political analysis and will vote because of some formula?” SP President Akhilesh Yadav On October 31, in a program in Hardoi, he said that Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammad Ali Jinnah became barristers and fought for the country’s independence and never backed down. Taking a jibe at Akhilesh Yadav’s statement, Irani said that this comparison again shows that “there are boys, cannot fight.” He said, “Sardar Patel is incomparable. The credit for awakening the spirit of unity in five hundred princely states goes to Sardar Patel. You can imagine how “great” his personality must have been.” Irani said, “Can you compare that person with the gentleman (Jinnah) who said let’s go, on the basis of religion? But we divide the country.” He said, “One worked towards uniting the country while the other worked towards breaking it.”
On Salman Khurshid’s recent book comparing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh with ISIS and Boko Haram, Irani said that he (Khurshid) had written a book even 15 years ago in which he said that Hindus and Sikhs lost their lives in 1984 riots. Sins had paid off. On Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statement that “Hindutva is not a single party, but everyone’s right”, Irani said there is a difference between an opportunistic Hindu or a political Hindu and a “Sanatan” Hindu.