'Called Amethi Home But Went To Wayanad': Smriti Irani Takes Swipe At Rahul Gandhi Amid 'Ghar Wapisi' Canards

Smriti Irani took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi saying that he called Amethi "his home" but he contested Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad and called the latter home while filing his nomination from there.

Smriti Irani took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi for calling Amethi "his home" but contesting Lok Sabha elections from Wayanad. ( Image Source :PTI )

Union Minister Smriti Irani took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi on Saturday during a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, which was once a Congress bastion. While addressing the election rally, she said that Rahul Gandhi first spoke about his relations in Amethi and then went to Wayanad where he declared the Kerala seat as his "home" while filing his nomination from there for the Lok Sabha elections.

Smriti Irani, who will be contesting her Amethi seat yet again, criticised the Congress leader for "changing his families" saying, "We have seen people changing colours, but for the first time changing families is being witnessed."

The Union minister then went on to urge the people to cast ballots on May 20, the day when Amethi goes for polling. Underlining the benefits of voting for BJP, Irani said, "The poor will get free ration for five years, farmers will get Rs 6,000 every month, and will receive Rs 5 lakh annually under the Ayushman Bharat scheme."

She further added that the grand old party on the other hand has declared that it will calcuate the wealth of nation's people if voted to power.

#WATCH | Union Minister and BJP candidate from Amethi Smriti Irani attended a public rally in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi.

She said, "...They talked about relations here ( in Amethi) and they went to Wayanad. While filing a nomination there he (Rahul Gandhi) declared Wayanad 'his… pic.twitter.com/5jWJrbcm1f

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 27, 2024

Congress Yet To Declare Candidates From Amethi & Raebareli

The suspense over Congress' candidates continues as the grand old party is yet to announce its candiates for two key constituencies in Uttar Pradesh-- Amethi and Raebareli, which had historically been the party's stronghold.

Taking a swipe at the Congress over not declaring the Amethi candidate and claiming that Rahul Gandhi will be fielded from the UP seat, Smriti Irani said, "Till now we were looking for issues in Amethi but now we are searching for Congress' candidate."

Irani further said that now that the polling in Wayanad has concluded, the Congress candidate will arrive in Amethi, but will first visit the Ram Temple.

She then slammed the party for rejecting the invitation to the Ram Temple consecration ceremony and said: "They rejected the invitation to the Ram temple consecration ceremony, now they will go to the temple as they think that this might get them votes, which means now they will go to betray god as well."

#WATCH | Union Minister and BJP candidate from Amethi Smriti Irani attended a public rally in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi.

She said, "It has been said to us that after Wayanad's voting today, the Congress candidate will arrive here, but first he will visit Ram temple. They rejected… pic.twitter.com/3B20RKA3yX

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 27, 2024

In 2019, Rahul Gandhi had lost Amethi to Smriti Irani, which was a major blow to Congress' prestige. Since then, Rahul had made several mentions of Amethi in his speeches, referring it as "his home", asserting that "no one can separate him from Amethi."

Amethi is scheduled to go to polls on May 20 during the fifth phase and the last date for filing nominations is May 3. Thus, Congress does not have much time and can be expected to likely make the decision regarding the candidates soon.