Refrain from using derogatory language towards Smriti Irani: Rahul Gandhi
His remarks come amid some people taking digs at Irani as she vacated her official bungalow following her defeat in the Lok Sabha polls to Congress’ Kishori Lal Sharma in Amethi
Former Congress president and Lok Sabha’s Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday urged people to refrain from using derogatory language against former Union minister Smriti Irani.
“Winning and losing happen in life. I urge everyone to refrain from using derogatory language and being nasty towards Smt. Smriti Irani or any other leader for that matter. Humiliating and insulting people is a sign of weakness, not strength,” he wrote on X.
Gandhi lost to Irani from Amethi in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, but she lost to Congress leader Kishori Lal Sharma this year as the party reclaimed its old bastion.
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BJP leader Amit Malviya, however, called Gandhi’s post a disingenuous message.
“This is the most disingenuous message, ever. After unleashing Congress leaders, like a pack of wolves, on the woman who defeated him in Amethi and smashed his arrogance to smithereens, this is rich. All this gibberish doesn’t take away from the fact that Smt Smriti Irani forced Balak Buddhi to abandon Amethi,” Malviya posted on X.
According to people aware of developments in Congress, several party supporters had targeted Irani after her defeat.
“Gandhi had maintained for a long time that derogatory remarks against political adversaries must be avoided. In our internal meetings too, Gandhi had often cautioned leaders in this aspect,” said a senior Congress functionary.
Irani was defeated by Sharma, with the latter winning by over 1.5 lakh votes.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Irani defeated Gandhi in Amethi, by over 55,000 votes.
On Wednesday, Irani vacated her official bungalow at 28 Tughlak Crescent in Lutyens’ Delhi.