Will see Congress leaders in court: Smriti Irani hits back at Gandhis over daughter’s ‘illegal bar’ row

New Delhi: Union minister Smriti Irani,  under attack from Congress over an alleged "illegal bar" being run in Goa by her 18-year-old daughter, has hit back on Saturday (July 23, 2022) and said the college student was targeted because of her mother's vocal stand on the Sonia and Rahul Gandhi's "Rs 5,000-crore loot" in the National Herald case. In a hard-hitting press conference here, Irani said the Congress "assassinated" and "publicly mutilated" her daughter Zoish's character, and dared the Opposition party to show proof of any wrongdoing on part of the 18-year-old. She asserted her daughter is a first-year college student and does not run any bar.

"My daughter's fault is that her mother holds a press conference on the loot of ₹ 5,000 crore by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. Her fault is that her mother fought against Rahul Gandhi in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls," the MP said.

She dared Rahul Gandhi to fight from Amethi Lok Sabha seat again in 2024, and vowed she will make him bite the dust again.

The ministry for women and child development asked if the purported notices shown by Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera at a press conference bear her daughter's name.

This is her promise as a BJP worker and the mother an an 18-year-old, she said. "I will seek answers in the court of law and the court of people," she said over the allegations.

Earlier, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told reporters that there are serious charges of corruption against Irani's family and her daughter is allegedly running a restaurant in Goa, in which a bar is functioning on a "fake licence".

Noting that it is a "very serious issue", the Congress also shared a copy of the show cause notice given to the bar, and said the excise official who gave the notice is reportedly being transferred after pressure from authorities.

(With agency inputs)