Published 12:26 IST, February 22nd 2021
Smriti Irani delivers on poll promise; buys land in UP's Amethi after shaming Rahul Gandhi
Union Minister Smriti Irani on Monday will be visiting her constituency Amethi and complete the land registration of the plot she bought in Gauriganj district
Union Minister Smriti Irani on Monday will be visiting her constituency Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and complete the land registration process for the plot she bought in Gauriganj district. This comes after the BJP leader who defeated former Congress president Rahul Gandhi from his family stronghold in UP in 2019 had promised to the people of Amethi that they won't have to visit Delhi to search for her and in case she wins, she would construct a home in her constituency itself.
According to a report in Free Press Journal, Irani has selected a parcel of land measuring 14,850 sq ft near Gauriganj. According to Smriti Irani's tour programme, the Union Minister of Textiles will get the registry of the land done between 12 to 12:30 pm.
Smriti takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi
Last month, taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Smriti Irani said she had kept her promise of visiting her Lok Sabha constituency regularly, whereas there was a time when its representative visited only once in five years.
"The Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi has seen a time when its MP used to visit once in five years to seek votes. A one-and-a-half year ago, I had made a promise that I will come in your midst again and again," Irani said. "MPs and MLAs are regularly coming in your midst. In the time of coronavirus, they have been present through e-Choupal and resolved people's problems," said Irani, who was on a day-long visit to her constituency.
In the Lok Sabha elections held in April-May 2019, Irani defeated Rahul on his home turf by a margin of over 55,000 votes. Rahul had won from Amethi in 2004, 2009 and 2014, and Sonia Gandhi had won from the seat in 1999. The Gandhi family, however, stayed at guest houses during their visits to Amethi the last two decades, as per media reports.
Last week, Smriti Irani targeted Rahul Gandhi over his remarks about wages of tea workers in Assam. Addressing a rally for civic polls in Rajkot city, she once again referred to Gandhi's statement that Congress would hike the wages of tea workers of Assam by making plantation owners `from Gujarat' pay more.
"A Congress leader, who lost from Amethi seat in 2019, said in a rally in Assam that he will take out money from the pockets of small tea traders and shopkeepers of Gujarat," Irani said. "His hatred for Prime Minister Narendra Modi is such that the Congress, which used to hate only one tea-seller (an apparent reference to Modi) earlier, now has issues with every Gujarati who drinks tea," she said.
(With PTI inputs)
Updated 12:34 IST, February 22nd 2021