NEW DELHI: On the eventful transition from the British-era Parliament to its new address opposite to it, BJPโs combative Union minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday directed her tirade at the family patron Sonia Gandhi for seeking a pie of credit in every oneโs favourite political cake of Womenโs Reservation Bill.
In an interaction with The New Indian just outside Indiaโs brand-new parliament, the Amethi MP quipped, โIf you ask the Gandhi family, they would say they even created the universe, let alone a Bill.โ
The MP, who was once was mocked as Smriti Who? following Priyanka Gandhiโs flippant remarks in 2014 against her, pulled no punches, as she retorted at the Gandhi duo for not standing up for the new bill on the first day of the new Parliament.
โIt would have done well if the Congress party had at least articulated its support for the bill. They managed to keep quiet,โ she said, adding, โIn fact, they were trying to create a ruckus when the law minister was trying to introduce the Bill.โ
โIt would have behooved of Gandhi well if she was in the Parliament when the Bill was introduced (today). She instead chose to remain absent,โ Irani said.
Irani, who wears the pride of beating the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in his pocket borough of Amethi in the 2019 elections, on her sleeves after a valiant battle, stopped short of calling Sonia โ one of the most influential political figures in India โ as โnirlajjโ (shameless) while questioning her audacity to claim credit for the Bill which she referred to as โNari Shakti vandanโ Bill.
EXCLUSIVE| THE NEW INDIAN : Union Minister @smritiirani while talking to @urvashikhona lauded the Womenโs Reservation Bill and emphasized, โThis Nari Shakti Vandan Bill is a historic decisionโ
She further said, โI am elated that today this Parliament has made a decisive move toโฆ pic.twitter.com/hu8xfH30Bd
โ The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) September 19, 2023
EXCLUSIVE ON THE NEW INDIAN: Congress MP @ManishTewari says โIf the government was serious about womenโs reservation, they should have brought womenโs reservation on the basis of parliamentary strength as it stands nowโ while speaking to The New Indian.
He said that there willโฆ pic.twitter.com/LgC1y5SQuk
โ The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) September 19, 2023
She called Sonia and Rahul Gandhi โarrogantโ.
Irani also expressed her happiness with the bill and said that this will address the decade-old problem that women face. โI am elated that today this Parliament has witnessed (an answer) to challenges that women faced for decades and agitation that women undertook with regards to the Womenโs reservation Bill.โ
She also called the day of entering the new building of parliament auspicious. โThe Prime Minister has chosen this day very rightly as it coincides with the festival of Ganesh Utsav. We enter the new premises with new promise, new hope and new determination.โ
EXCLUSIVE| THE NEW INDIAN: Star cricketer and AAP Rajya Sabha member, @harbhajan_singh, spotted entering the New Parliament building.
โItโs a privilege,โ he tells @urvashikhona pic.twitter.com/PFutHRVMpp
โ The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) September 19, 2023
Cleared by the Union Cabinet on Monday night, the Bill โ which was first introduced in 1996 โ has gained support from all political quarters. It was last introduced by the Congress government in 2010 but it never sailed through.
