Lok Sabha polls 2024: Smriti Irani hits out at Rahul Gandhi over Varanasi remark, says...

Lok Sabha elections news: Smriti Irani, Union Minister and BJP MP from Amethi, lambasted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his not-so-veiled jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency.  Speaking at a rally in his former constituency Amethi during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the Gandhi scion claimed he "saw people lying on the road after drinking alcohol" in Varanasi.

"I went to Varanasi and I saw that instruments are being played at night. I saw people lying on the road after drinking alcohol. The future of Uttar Pradesh is dancing after drinking alcohol at night," Gandhi said.

He also went on a tirade against the Ram Mandir pran pratishtha ceremony held in Ayodhya. Gandhi attacked business tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, while adding not a single Dalit person or anyone belonging to the backward castes was present.

"On the other side, there is the Ram Temple in which PM Modi will be seen and Ambani and Adani will be seen. You will see all the billionaires of India but not a single backward or Dalit person will be seen," he said.

Calling Rahul Gandhi's remarks "objectionable", the Union Minister said these "remarks show how much venom he has in his mind for Uttar Pradesh", adding that Gandhi made hurtful comments against the voters of Uttar Pradesh in his current constituency Wayanad.

Irani also targeted Sonia Gandhi and questioned Rahul Gandhi's upbringing. She further said that the grand old's party future seems uncertain while Uttar Pradesh is headed towards development.

"Congress' future is in darkness, but Uttar Pradesh's future is moving towards development. It is my advice to Sonia Gandhi that if she cannot give a good upbringing to her son, then at least ask him not to comment," she said.

This, however, is not the only blistering attack that Smriti Irani launched on Rahul Gandhi. Smriti Irani had earlier thrown a challenge to Rahul Gandhi to contest from Amethi, his former constituency, without shifting to Wayanad, his current constituency.

"In 2019, he left Amethi, today Amethi has left him. If he is confident, then without going to Wayanad, let him fight from Amethi," she said. In the 2019 elections, Rahul Gandhi lost to Smriti Irani by approximately 55,000 votes.  Meanwhile, black flags were reportedly seen at the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.

Also Read: Lok Sabha elections 2024: 'Abki baar, Satta se bahar,' says Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on BJP