In an exclusive interview with Organiser Special Correspondent Nishant Kumar Azad and Sub-Editor Yatharth Sikka, Union Minister and BJP candidate Smriti Irani discussed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s decision not to
contest polls from Amethi. She went on to discuss her significant achievements and other electoral issues. Excerpts:
You stunned with your performance by defeating Rahul Gandhi in 2019 and won the love and faith of people of Amethi. How do you assess your work in the constituency in the last five years?
I think one of the most significant changes we made is that the Gandhi family refused to contest the election from Amethi. They gave up on one of the family’s key bastions. In the last five years, even when we were confronting COVID-19 for two years, we have 1.5 lakh families that have received electricity connection for the first time, over two lakh families got LPG connection for the first time, four lakh families got toilets, three lakh families got tap water connection, and as many got their houses built under PM Awas Yojna. All this was unimaginable in a constituency which was called a Gandhi family bastion for five decades. Now the question is how come the Gandhi family, which claims to be a harbinger of progress, couldn’t manage basic amenities for people of a constituency who never shied from giving the Gandhi family their votes? We have made pucca roads in 220 villages. We didn’t have a Chief Medical Officer (CMO) office; the fire and police stations needed infrastructure makeover and whatnot. People of Amethi have finally seen what development looks like, and it has led to a tectonic shift in politics in a way that this time, the Gandhi family refuses to contest from Amethi.
Priyanka Gandhi claims that the people of Amethi should vote Congress for its “true sewa”.
Is keeping three and a half lakh people without tap water “true sewa”? Is keeping lakhs of people without a toilet and home a “true sewa”? The people of Amethi will respond to Priyanka Gandhi in “true sense.”
What are your plans for the next five years if the people of Amethi give you another opportunity this time around?
We have plans to micro-manage the constituency by making plans at the level of village panchayats because all of them have different needs. We have identified blocks where Inter-Colleges and Health Centres are required. Apart from that, the Prime Minister’s vision of making ‘lakhpati didi’ is growing very well in Amethi. We have made 13,000 of them in the last three years but aim to add 50,000 more in the next five years.
“Rahul Gandhi is hell-bent on changing the Constitution by making promises like reinstating Article 370 and reversing the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya”
How do you perceive the shift in your main opponent from Rahul Gandhi to Kishori Lal Sharma?
The Gandhi family ran away without offering any contest, and now they claim that they are fighting from behind the curtains. Why didn’t they come in a straight fight if they wanted to win Amethi?
Rahul Gandhi talks about wealth distribution, but his party denies it. How do you see this conundrum?
Rahul Gandhi clearly said it. We have evidence on video. So, why is his party lying over it? Is his party now unsure on what her leader claims?
In a recent statement, I.N.D.I. Alliance partner and RJD senior leader Lalu Prasad Yadav advocated for full reservations for Muslims. What is your opinion on this?
Reservation on what basis? The Constitution of India has no provision to give reservations on religious grounds. And even the holy Quran says that there is nothing like caste in Islam. How can someone talk about giving reservations to Muslims?
Rahul Gandhi keeps claiming that if the BJP wins 400 seats, it will change the Constitution. How do you see this allegation?
PM Modi has emphatically conveyed to the countrymen on multiple occasions the sacredness of the Constitution. The people of Bharat know the truth, but Rahul Gandhi lives in illusion. He is hell-bent on changing the Constitution by making promises like reinstating Article 370 and reversing the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Telangana Police filed the closure report on Rohith Vemula’s case recently and it was confirmed that he was not a Dalit. The Gandhi family and Congress attacked you when you were HRD Minister, claiming that Vemula’s suicide was an institutional murder.
Truth has prevailed. It was deeply unfortunate and low politics of the Gandhi family. Congress abused the tragic death of a bright young student to heat up their politics. The continuous decline of the Gandhi dynasty is nothing but a logical outcome of their political sins.
