“Winning and losing happen in life. I urge everyone to refrain from using derogatory language and being nasty towards Smt.Smriti Irani or any other leader for that matter,” wrote Rahul Gandhi in a post on X.
“Humiliating and insulting people is a sign of weakness, not strength,” the Congress scion added.
Smriti Irani, who was dubbed as ‘giantslayer’ after defeating Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, at his family borough Amethi, lost the seat to Gandhi loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma in the 2024 general elections.
Reacting sharply to Rahul Gandhi’s post, BJP’s IT wing incharge, Amit Malviya hit out at the Congress leader, calling his message “disingenuous”.
“This is the most disingenuous message, ever. After unleashing Congress leaders, like a pack of wolves, on the woman who defeated him in Amethi and smashed his arrogance to smithereens, this is rich. All this gibberish doesn’t take away from the fact that Smt Smriti Irani forced Balak Buddhi to abandon Amethi,” Malviya wrote on X.
The former women and child development minister vacated her official bungalow at 28 Tughlak Crescent earlier this week.
In the last ten years, she had been an integral part of the Modi government, holding several key ministries.
Smriti was so confident of her prospects that she had openly dared Rahul to contest from Amethi.
However, Rahul did not fall for the challenge and instead chose to contest from Raebareli which was vacated by his mother Sonia Gandhi. The former Congress president won from Rae Bareli with a margin of over two lakh votes.
After her defeat, Smriti congratulated the winners and said she will continue to work for Amethi.
She took to social media to express her sentiments, mentioning her dedication and how the results have not diminished her determination.
She reflected, “Such is life… A decade of my life spent moving from one village to another, shaping lives, fostering hope and dreams, working on infrastructure like roads, drainage systems, bridges, bypasses, medical colleges, and more.”
She further added, “I am eternally grateful to those who supported me through thick and thin. To those rejoicing today, congratulations. And to those inquiring, ‘How’s the josh?’ I say – it’s still high, Sir.”