Smriti Irani questions land sale to Rajiv Gandhi Trust

AMETHI: Union human resources development minister Smriti Irani on Sunday called Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi a “liar”, as she accused the Gandhi family of quietly taking over land meant for a factory in Amethi for a trust while pretending to be fighting on behalf of farmers.

Taking the battle to Gandhi’s constituency after the opposition forced a washout of the monsoon session of Parliament over issues including the Land Acquisition Bill, Irani said 65 acres of farmers’ land had been acquired in the 1980s to set up a bicycle company. But the project never took off and the land was taken over by the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust earlier this year, she said.

“What happened to the land? Did the company start the project? People know but are afraid to speak about it. The land was taken over by the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust on 24 February 2015. There are documents which prove this,” the minister said.