Smriti Irani sends legal notice to Congress leaders over remarks on daughter

Union minister Smriti Irani on Sunday reportedly sent a legal notice to Congress leaders Pawan Khera, Jairam Ramesh, and Netta D’ Souza.

A day after she rubbished allegations against her 18-year-old daughter over a bar in Goa. Irani has asked the leaders to tender “a written unconditional apology” and withdraw the allegations with immediate effect, reported news agency ANI.

The Congress had, in a press conference, charged that the BJP leader’s daughter was involved in running a bar in Goa, which got its excise licence illegally. The bar got two bar licences when regulations allow only one, the leaders claimed.

“An 18-year-old child, a college student, her character today was assassinated by Congress men at a Congress headquarters… her fault is that her mother fought the Lok Sabha election against Rahul Gandhi from Amethi in 2014, in 2019… her fault is that her mother, as has been said by the Congress spokesperson, does press conferences against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi,”” Irani had hit back on Saturday, calling the allegations ‘malicious’.

Accusing the Congress of assassinating her daughter’s character, the union minister said she will ‘seek answers in the court of law”. “Those who assassinated my daughter’s character, I will see you in the court of law and the court of people,” she said.

The reaction came in response to Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera’s allegations of “serious charges of corruption” against Irani’s family.

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Saturday backed Irani. “18 year olds may not know the process is the punishment in acquiring licenses for running a restaurant in India, a young girl attempted something audacious in pursuit of her dreams,maybe erred, do not demonise. PS: I speak as a mother of a 19 year old& keeping my politics aside. (sic),” she wrote in a tweet without naming the union minister. Shiv Sena and the BJP have been former allies.