Union Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday rubbished Congress' allegation that her 18-year-old daughter was running an "illegal bar" in Goa. She said her daughter was a first-year college student and was not running bar.
Irani said her daughter's only fault is that her mother holds press conferences on the "loot of Rs 5,000 cr by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi". She said her fault is that her mother fought Lok Sabha elections against Rahul Gandhi from Amethi in 2014 & 2019.
Claiming that the Congress leader have assassinated her daughter's character, the Union Minister said, "I will seek answers in court of law, court of people".
Further, she also challenged former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to fight from Amethi Lok Sabha seat again in 2024. "I promise he will lose again," she added.
Irani said, "Her (daughter's) character was publicly mutilated by the Congress party and they claim that the mutilation stemmed from a show-cause notice. I want to ask that Congressperson, where is my daughter's name in the papers that he flashed?"
"Jairam Ramesh said, he is taking a position based on RTI application. Where did it mention my daughter's name? The allegation that my daughter runs an illegal bar is malicious, with the intent not only to assassinate her character, but also to politically malign me," she added.
Earlier today, in a statement, the lawyer of Irani's daughter, Kirat Nagra, said 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 whatsoever as alleged.
Nagra said various "erroneous, frivolous, malicious and defamatory social media posts being made by various vested quarters trying to settle political scores with our client's mother, the renowned politician Smriti Irani each of which are predicated on blatant falsities".
Terming the charges as "baseless", Nagra said, "It is unfortunate that they have resorted to spreading a false propaganda only to sensationalize a non-issue without ascertaining true facts and with a predetermined objective of defaming Our Client for solely being the daughter of a political leader."
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.
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".
"The licence by Smriti Irani's daughter is in the name of a person who died in May 2021, and the licence was taken in June 2022 in Goa. But the person in whose name the licence is, had died 13 months ago. This is illegal," he told reporters.
He said according to Goa rules, a restaurant can get only one bar licence but this restaurant has got two bar licences.
"We demand from the prime minister that Smriti Irani should be immediately sacked as a minister from the Union cabinet. You owe it to this country, to the youth of this country," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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