My daughter's fault is her mother speaks against loot by Sonia, Rahul Gandhi: Smriti Irani hits back at Congress

New Delhi: "Malicious" says Union Minister Smriti Irani as she rejected the Congress' allegation that her 18-yearold daughter Zoish ran an illegal bar in Goa. She said that her daughter, a first-year college student, is being 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.

The Congress "assassinated" and "publicly mutilated" Zoish's character, said the Union Minister of Women and Child Development Minister said addressing a press conference at her residence in national capital Delhi.

"My daughter's fault is that her mother holds a press conference on the loot of Rs 5,000 crore by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. Her fault is that her mother fought against Rahul Gandhi in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls," Irani said, apparently referring to the National Herald case.

Smriti Irani also dared the Opposition to furnish proof of any wrongdoing on part of her daughter.

Intensifying her attack on Congress, Irani said, "Those who assassinated my daughter's character, I will see you in the court of law and the court of people."

She also dared Rahul Gandhi to fight from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat again in 2024, and vowed that she will make him bite the dust again. She had defeated Rahul in Amethi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Meanwhile, the ministry for women and child development has 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 of an 18-year-old, she added.

Earlier on Saturday, the Congress party demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi sack Smriti Irani's sacking, alleging that her daughter was running an "illegal bar" in the coastal state.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, its general secretary Jairam Ramesh and the party's Goa chief Amit Patkar made the allegations at press conferences in Delhi and Panaji, targeting Irani and her family.

Claiming 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 served it is reportedly being transferred under pressure from the authorities.

Lawyer of Irani's daughter, Kirat Nagra, termed the allegations by the Congress baseless and asserted that his client is neither an owner nor operating the restaurant called Silly Souls Goa and has also not received any show cause notice from any authority as alleged by them.

Nagra said various "erroneous, frivolous, malicious and defamatory social media posts (were) being made by various vested quarters trying to settle political scores with our client's mother, the renowned politician Smriti Irani each of which is predicated on blatant falsities".

Attacking Irani, Khera said, "Smriti Irani was asking all kinds of questions from Rahul Gandhi, but we want to ask her what problem do those running bars have with those running newspapers."

"We are running only a newspaper and you are running illegal bars," Khera alleged.

With inputs from PTI

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