Union Minister Smriti Irani, known for her fiery speeches and quick-witted responses, recently took a fresh jibe at the Congress party. The minister, who has had a long journey from being a popular television actress to a key figure in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), used her transformation as a metaphor to highlight the progress she has made in her political career.
Her statement came after Congress called her ‘Rag Irani’ on Saturday for frequently invoking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s name in her remarks.
“From ‘Smriti Who?’ to ‘Rag Irani’, I’ve come a long way,” she said, referring to the initial scepticism she faced when she entered politics and the derogatory remarks made by her opponents. The term ‘Rag Irani’ is a play on her name and the Hindi word ‘rag’, which means ‘to tease or mock’. This statement was seen as a direct hit at the Congress party, which has often criticised her political rise.
“From ‘Smriti who? to RaG Irani! It seems I’ve come a long way politically for the grand old party to tweet incessantly about me,” the MP from Amethi wrote on Twitter.
She also stated that her surname was misspelled in Congress’ tweet and added, “Seems someone somewhere is perturbed.”
When asked about Smriti Irani running against Rahul Gandhi in the 2014 parliament elections, Priyanka Gandhi made a caustic remark about the BJP politician. “Smriti…who?” she asked, refusing to consider Smriti Irani as a viable option.
Following Smriti Irani’s victory over Rahul Gandhi in Ameti in the 2019 elections, the BJP used the same remark to criticise the Congress, claiming that the party now knew “Smriti… who?”
Smriti Irani invoked Rahul Gandhi’s name on Thursday in response to Congress MP Amee Yajnik’s question in the Rajya Sabha regarding whether the women ministers will speak about the situation in Manipur.
“When will you have the courage to tell us how women are raped in Congress-ruled states? When will you have the guts to tell how Rahul Gandhi put Manipur on fire? Do not cast aspersions on women ministers in this cabinet,” Smriti Irani said in a fiery speech.
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