Smriti Irani challenges Rahul Gandhi's 'Nyay' pitch in Amethi

In Amethi, his former Lok Sabha constituency, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday reiterated his caste census pitch, saying the youth of today was being reduced to saying 'Jai Shree Ram' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' while scions of billionaires keep getting richer at their expense. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge reminded people of the "deep relationship" with the Gandhi family.

However, BJP MP Smriti Irani, who is also in Amethi at present, claimed anger against Gandhi for depriving the city of development and refusing the invite for Ram Lalla's consecration on January 22, and said it was visible in the empty streets of Amethi during his yatra.

After traversing through Varanasi and Prayagraj, Gandhi was in Amethi today where he and Kharge addressed a public meeting.


Gandhi reiterated his pitch for a nationwide caste census as a solution for widespread unemployment in the country. He said there are 73% backwards, Dalits and tribals in the country but none are found owning or running the top 200 companies of India, or being a part of teams running private hospitals or even the media. "Do you know where your names are? You will find your names in the list of labourers or in the list of MGNREGA in abundance. That is your future. This is what is happening with you... you are only getting distracted," Gandhi said.

He claimed that no person from the Backward or Dalit community was seen attending the Ram temple consecration ceremony, not even the President who is a tribal. "You saw Adani, Ambani, other businessmen, their kids, Narendra Modi, Amitabh Bachchan... It is their India, not yours. You are not getting it. Your work is to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Jai Shree Ram' and their work is to count cash, fly in private jets," he said. He also said he and Amethi had an "old relationship of love" and thanked them.

Kharge used an emotional pitch and recalled Sonia Gandhi's message to Amethi in 1998, when she was in the constituency after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination where she had spoken of Amethi being Rajiv's 'karmabhoomi' which always stood by the party in every circumstance.

Meanwhile, Irani made a caustic attack on Gandhi and said it is because of the change that welfare programmes are bringing in the lives of natives of Amethi, that even when Gandhi came here for the yatra, people did not welcome him. "They had to bring people from Pratapgarh and Sultanpur. They had planned to stay all day but only spent a few hours and went away."