New Delhi:
Congress' Rahul Gandhi has switched to Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli, leaving Amethi to family loyalist and party leader KL Sharma. But he was the opponent being targeted by BJP minister Smriti Irani, the sitting MP from Amethi. Ms Irani, who wrested Amethi from Rahul Gandhi in 2019, is hoping for a second consecutive term.
Speaking today, Ms Irani targeted Mr Gandhi over recent comments in support of a leader in Pakistan.
“Till now I was fighting against the Congress candidate, but now a Pakistani leader has said that Smriti Irani must be defeated,” Irani said amid loud cheers.
“I thought, 'You can't handle Pakistan, are you worried about Amethi?'… If my voice reaches the Pakistani leader, I want to say that this is the Amethi where Prime Minister Modi has built a factory of AK 203 rifles “That gun is being used to kill Pakistani terrorists at the border,” she added.
Then came the attack on Mr. Gandhi. “Today I want to ask, 'What is this relationship of Pakistan with Rahul Gandhi called? “Elections are going on in the country but you (Rahul Gandhi) are getting support abroad and have not condemned it,” she added.
Last week, former Pakistani minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain had praised Rahul Gandhi in a social media post. Mr Gandhi has since been targeted by the BJP over the issue. Most leaders, starting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had questioned his 'connection with Pakistan'.
Last week, Prime Minister Modi claimed that there was a “partnership” between Congress and Pakistan, saying it is now “fully visible”.
“You must have come to know that a Pakistani leader is offering prayers for the Congress. Pakistan is eager to make Shehzada (Rahul Gandhi) the Prime Minister… And we know that Congress is a disciple of Pakistan,” he had said. .
Mr Gandhi, who has contested from Wayanad, was last week announced as the candidate from Raebareli, the constituency vacated by his mother Sonia Gandhi when she moved to the Rajya Sabha.
It was widely expected that Gandhi would try to win back Amethi, which sent him to the Lok Sabha three times. His move to Raebareli – described by many Congress leaders as a strategic move – had ridiculed the BJP. Prime Minister Modi had said not to run, but to stand and fight.