Smriti Irani hits back at Sonia Gandhi: Congress indulging in political slander unfortunate but expected

Smriti Irani alleged that the Congress was practising petty politics and was trying to break the country's resolve.

Coronavirus politics, Lockdown: In a hard-hitting attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Union minister and BJP MP from Amethi Smriti Irani said that the opposition was seeking to benefit from the challenges the country is facing currently. Irani said that the Congress is indulging in political slander which is unfortunate but not unexpected.

Irani alleged that the Congress was practising petty politics and was trying to break the country’s resolve. The BJP leader said she was shocked at the attempts of some opposition party leaders to draw political mileage in the name of the pandemic.

“It is unfortunate that when the nation needs to stand united against the COVID-19 pandemic, certain political parties are seeking benefit from challenges the country faces,” the Amethi MP said.

Irani said in this hour of crisis, the Centre and states, including district authorities, have converged their efforts. “But the Congress at this time indulges in political slander unfortunate but expected,” she said.

This ‘lowly politics’ by the Congress is condemnable, the Union minister added.

“Congress party cannot be expected to contribute constructively to the nation’s development,” she said.

Irani also slammed the Congress for calling the Rs 1.70 lakh crore economic package a ‘cruel joke’. She said that governments across states, including those ruled by the Congress, have benefitted from the package.

“The scheme has supported some of the weakest segments of our society,” she said.

Irani’s reponse comes after Congress president Sonia Gandhi in a video message, posted as part of her party’s ‘Speak Up India’ campaign, slammed the Modi government and demanded that the Centre deposit Rs 7,500 into the bank accounts of the poor for the next next six months. She lamented that even though the country is passing through a serious economic crisis with loss of livelihood, the Centre has not helped those affected.