After Rahul Gandhi’s jab, Smriti Irani counters: ‘India believes in merit, not dynasty’

“You define corruption in India, you define incompetence in India. You are not India, for India is not corrupt. India believes in merit, and not dynasty. Today, of all days, people like you should remember what was told to the British: Quit India. Corruption quit India, dynasty quit India. Merit now finds a place in India,” the minister for women and child development told the Opposition alliance. Wednesday is the anniversary of the declaration of the 1942 Quit India movement.

Irani said for the first time in India there was talk of the murder of Bharat Mata. “For the first time in the history of the country, there was talk of the murder of Bharat Mata and the Congress clapped in this House. They have sent a clear message to the country about who the traitors are.

“I condemn their behaviour. This is the first time that someone talked about the murder of India, and Congress leaders were thumping desks. I want to tell them that Manipur is not broken. It was, it is, and it will remain an integral part of India.”

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Irani added, “I want to challenge the Gandhis… A member of his (Opposition) alliance said in Tamil Nadu that India only means north India. If he has the courage, Rahul Gandhi should comment on this and ask his DMK friends about it. Another Congress leader said there should be a referendum on Kashmir… Was the statement given as per the order of the Congress leadership that a leader talked about a referendum in Kashmir? Would the Gandhi family has the courage to raise questions to him?”

Referring to Emergency and the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, Irani attacked the Congress and said the Opposition party’s history was smeared in blood. To buttress her point, the minister also raised the issues of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the unrest in Kashmir during Congress rule at the Centre.

Mentioning Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, she said, “I will not speak on joint pains. But I will speak about the Valley that India has seen to be soaked in blood. But when they went there, they were playing with snowballs. That was possible after Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi abrogated Article 370. He said he went on a yatra and gave assurance that they will restore Article 370 … Article 370 will never be restored.”

Referring to Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi’s criticism that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had maintained “maun vrat (vow of silence)” over Manipur, Irani asked the Congress why it had been silent when a KPMG study found that GDP growth would be affected because of the UPA government’s policies and when a 2004-’05 survey showed open defecation led to several rapes and only 39% people had toilets before 2014.

Listing the Modi government’s achievements — opening of bank accounts, providing Mudra loans, support for Self Help Groups with budgetary allocation — Irani said, “Gandhi talked about patriotism. It’s a party that sought evidence from the Army (on Balakot). Rahul Gandhi has faith in Indian Union Muslim League, which was involved in the 1980 Moradabad riots, in JNU he stood with the tukde-tukde gang.”

Earlier, as Irani got up to speak, Gandhi left the House. This provoked BJP MPs to ask him to sit and listen. In her speech, Irani accused Gandhi of misogyny and alleged he blew a kiss towards the Treasury Benches. “The person who spoke before me… an indecent gesture was made… only a misogynistic man can give a flying kiss to Parliament where women members are present… Such an indecent act has never been witnessed by the House. The entire country has seen the culture of the (Gandhi) family,” she said.

Irani also took on Gandhi for his comments on the BJP government’s alleged connections with businessman Gautam Adani. The minister listed the Adani group projects approved by the previous UPA government as well as Opposition-ruled states.

Irani said the government was always ready to debate the violence in Manipur but it was the Opposition that ran away. “Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh repeatedly said the government was ready to debate on the Manipur issue. The Opposition ran away from it, we did not,” she said.

The minister took potshots at Gandhi for his visits abroad during which he criticised the Modi government. “He went outside the country… Rahul Gandhi said, ‘There is going to be a mass upsurge, now the question is how can the Opposition effectively use the upsurge to change politics.’ Today he said, ‘Kerosene has spread across the country, all we need is a matchstick.’ I would like to ask today, where did Rahul Gandhi go to look for the matchsticks? America? He had programs there with Tanzeem Ansari… He had a meeting with Minhaj Khan who raised his voice against India.”