NEW DELHI, Feb 20
BJP Lok Sabha MP and Union Minister, Smriti Irani, on Monday challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to contest the upcoming Parliamentary Polls from Amethi.
She accused him of fleeing Amethi in 2019, saying that if he is confident, then he should contest from this seat only and not from any other seat.
Yesterday, Rahul led his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra to Amethi, despite Congress losing its foothold. After which, speculations of Rahul Gandhi running from Amethi are being made again.
Irani is confident about running for re-election and is currently engaged in a four-day tour of her constituency, to organise the grah pravesh of her newly constructed house in Gauriganj.
The Congress party is still unsure about choosing Gandhi as its candidate from Amethi as Party Leader. Jairam Ramesh said that a final decision will be taken by the party’s key poll body, the Central Election Committee (CEC).
2019 Poll Results
In 2019, while Smrirt Irani contested from Amethi alone, Rahul Gandhi contested from two seats: UP’s Amethi and Kerela’s Wayanad. While he lost from Amethi but won Wayanad, retaining his Lok Sabha membership.
Nyay Yatra To Be Paused
Meanwhile, Gandhi will pause his Yatra Tuesday to appear before the MP/MLA court in Sultanpur, where he is facing a defamation case filed against him in 2018. According to his lawyer, Kashi Prasad Shukla, Gandhi is charged with making derogatory remarks against Home Minister Amit Shah, who was the BJP’s National President at the time.
Shah-Rahul Defamation Case
A warrant against Gandhi was issued by the court in the case on December 16, 2023. The defamation case originates from allegations by Vijay Mishra, a resident of Hanumanganj in Kotwali Dehat, Uttar Pradesh, who claimed that Gandhi made objectionable remarks against Shah during a press conference in Bangalore on July 15, 2018. Mishra’s lawyer, Santosh Pandey, filed the complaint, leading to the issuance of the December warrant against Gandhi.
