Congress took control of 40 acres of land in Amethi: Smriti Irani hits back at Rahul Gandhi

Hitting out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday said that the person who performed "magic" on the people of Amethi had lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi as she blamed the Gandhi family for not achieving its development. promises in the Lok Sabha constituency. Irani used the term "magic" used by Gandhi in his remarks in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday to describe industrialist Gautam Adani's meteoric rise under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

Attacking the Gandhi family without taking their name, the minister alleged that in 1981, a foundation, which is very famous in Amethi, took control of 40 acres of land at a rent of Rs 623 on the promise of building a medical facility. PUSH. “For 30 years, the poor people of Amethi were told that a medical college would be opened. But on the land where there was talk of opening a medical school, that family built a guest house,” she said, interjecting herself into the debate on the Motion of Thanks for the President's speech.

Irani defeated Gandhi from Amethi, once a Gandhi pocket district, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. She also alleged that one Nanhe Lal Mishra, suffering from a serious illness, was turned away by a hospital built on land owned by a "family" as he said he should be treated under Prime Minister Modi's Ayushman Bharat scheme. “I wish Mishra could say this to the House, but his voice will not be heard here because he has died... These are the people who attacked Narendra Modi, mocked him and allowed the gentleman to die. They still have 40 acres of land,” Irani said, adding that it was Modi who gave the people of Amethi a medical college.

Citing another example, she said a "family" invited people to open a factory, which suddenly closed and the land was taken over by a foundation. “The farmers went to court against the family and got an order from the court but they ignored it and continue to occupy the land. And they come to parliament and talk about the poor,” Irani said.

She also alleged that the Gandhis destroyed the Fursatganj airport where they ran a family academy and named two hostels after Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. “When they were in the board, they handed over the management (of the academy) to a foreign firm that destroyed the place and everything that is part of the report,” the minister said. She added that Fursatganj Airport is now included in the UDAN system of the center and the common man can avail it.

Refuting the opposition's allegations, the Minority Affairs Minister claimed that the Modi government had done a lot for minorities and pointed to the new Haj policy under which application forms were free. She accused Congress of cheating minorities over the years. Irani also highlighted the development projects undertaken in Amethi since she won the Uttar Pradesh parliamentary seat in 2019 and accused the Gandhi family of stalling the constituency's progress despite representing it in the Lok Sabha for more than five decades.

She took a swipe at Gandhi over the Congress leader's allegations against Modi, saying Hindi proverbs — "diya tale andhera," "chor ki dadhi mein tinka" and "ulta chor kotwal ko daate" — came to life in front of her in Parliament on Tuesday. Irani also hailed the Prime Minister for his efforts to ensure that a tribal woman (President Droupadi Murmu) attains the highest constitutional office in the country.