"Empty streets, reflection of Amethi's anger": Smriti Irani launches attack on Congress

Amethi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 19 : Union Minister Smriti Irani, who is on a four-day visit to her parliamentary constituency of Amethi on Monday, launched a scathing attack on the Congress and said that the empty streets that greet Rahul Gandhi are a reflection of the people of Amethi's anger towards the Gandhi family.
Even as former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Amethi, a political face-off was seen.
Union Minister and BJP MP from Amethi spoke to the media on Monday and said, "The anger of the people of Amethi against the Gandhi family is visible. Today, when Rahul Gandhi) arrived, he was welcomed by empty streets. The anger of those who were deprived of development in Amethi has today transformed into empty streets for the visit of the Gandhi family."
Speaking to the media Irani said, "In 2014, Amethi was promised a 'Badlaav ki Raajneeti' (politics of change) under our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hence, Amethi received an investment of Rs 6,523 crore in the Investors Summit held in the national capital."
"This was not a memorandum of understanding, 'ye dharatal par implement hua nivesh hai.' From the period of independence till 2014, when Prime Minister Modi became PM, the small-scale industry in Amethi only received Rs 500 crore in over 60 years," she said.
"However, in the 10 years of PM Modi's tenure, Rs 2107 crore was given to the same small-scale industry sector in Amethi so that over one lakh beneficiaries could start their small-scale industries," said Irani.
Commending Prime Minister Modi's governance, Smriti Irani said, "PM Modi ji was heard saying in the Parliament and today in UP that 1 crore 'Lakhpati Didis' have been made in the country.
"This is our pride and today, as the BJP MP for Amethi, I am happy that just in a matter of two years, Amethi has as many as 8,000 Lakhpati Didis. This figure is a reflection of the change that has come in the lives of the residents of Amethi," said the Minister.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Irani said, "Perhaps this is also the reason why the people of Amethi remained unavailable to welcome the people who did not serve Amethi well."
"The people of Amethi also haven't forgotten that this particular person who had mentioned Amethi and said that 'yaha ke logo ki samjh theek nahi hai'. This is the reason why the people of this constituency are angry," she said.
"The Ram Bhakts of Amethi are also angered with the fact that the former MP of Amethi and the Gandhi family rejected the invitation for Ram Lalla's life Pran Prathistha ceremony," she stated.
"The anger of those who were deprived of development in Amethi has today transformed into empty streets for the visit of the Gandhi family," said Irani.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived in Amethi, the parliamentary seat he represented earlier, the same day, union minister and local member of parliament (MP) Smriti Irani began her four-day visit to the Uttar Pradesh town.
It was a rare occasion when the two leaders were present in Amethi on the same day.
The last time the two leaders were in Amethi at the same time was two years ago, in February 2022, during the election campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Amethi used to be a Congress stronghold in Uttar Pradesh, where Rahul Gandhi lost to Smriti Irani by a margin of around 55,000 votes in the 2019 elections.
The Congress is still undecided on whether Rahul Gandhi will attempt to regain the Congress stronghold, especially since Sonia Gandhi has also left Rae Bareili for the Rajya Sabha.
Rahul Gandhi had won Lok Sabha elections from erstwhile Nehru-Gandhi family bastion Amethi three times until the 2019 general elections, when he faced defeat from Smriti Irani.
Rahul Gandhi, however, won from Wayanad in Kerala, the second seat he contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Rahul Gandhi reached Amethi on Monday as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the campaign kicked off by him on January 14 from Thoubal in Manipur in the run-up to upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Although it is improbable that the two leaders come face-to-face with each other, the coincidence proceeds ahead of the ensuing Lok Sabha elections in Amethi and beyond.