Smriti Irani Hits Back At Congress Jibe Over Missing Amethi MP

Did enthusiastic Congress workers and All India Mahila Congress bite more than they could chew in trying to take on Union Minister of Textiles and Amethi MP Smriti Irani? Posters declaring the Amethi MP as 'missing' were found plastered all over the constituency on Monday.

Directed at the Union Minister of Textiles the posters in Hindi read, "Question for the missing MP. You have visited Amethi for two days in the last one year and that too for a few hours. The people of Amethi are reeling under the onslaught of coronavirus today. We don't wish to say that you have disappeared ... we have seen you playing Antakshari on Twitter. We have also seen some of your workers distributing food. But being the MP of Amethi, the people of Amethi are looking up to you in these times of adversity. Abandoning the people of Amethi in such times proves that Amethi is only a tourist hub for you. Will you visit Amethi only to perform its last rites?"

The official Twitter handle of All India Mahila Congress put out a tweet with an image of the posters, adding that Amethi was looking for its MP who had gone missing.

Not one to take such taunts lying down, Smriti Irani hit back asking how many times Rae Bareli MP Sonia Gandhi had visited her Lok Sabha constituency.

Smriti Irani, in her feisty style, tweeted, "I was not aware of your affection for me. Now let us get down to talking about the stats. I can present a full account of my 8 months 10 visits and 14 days, but how many times did Sonia Ji visit her constituency?

The Union Minister of textiles added, "I am in regular touch with the Collector of Amethi, Sultanpur and Rae Bareli and have been ensuring that all the deserving poor get the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojana."

Smriti Irani went on to ask, "what has Sonia Ji done for her constituency (Rae Bareli)? Till now 22,150 people have reached Amethi by bus and 8,322 by trains and that after following all the legal and mandatory protocols were followed." Referring to her grassroots contact with her constituency the Union Minister of Textiles continued, "I can tell the name of each person and each family; Can Sonia Ji do the same in her constituency Rae Bareli?"

Smriti Irani also pointed out that Coronavirus entered Amethi when Congress leaders first violated lockdown rules. She added—"you want me to encourage people to come out of their homes breaking the law so that you can play Twitter Twitter! Amethi may not be dear to you, but it definitely is to me."