Rahul Gandhi attacks Govt on hunger issue; invites sharp reaction from Smriti Irani

Citing a report on Global Hunger Index statistics showing India slipping three notches further, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a dig at the government, evoking sharp reactions from Union Minister Smriti Irani, who accused him of trying to 'malign' the nation's name.

The Twitter war began as Gandhi tweeted a news report on the Global Hunger Index along with a Hindi couplet by poet Dushyant Kumar which read: "bhookh hai to sabr kar, roti nahi to kya hua, aajkal dilli mein hai zer-e-behas yeh mudda (If you are hungry, be patient! So what if you have no bread? Hunger is a hot topic, these days Of debate in the Delhi Durbar!)

In a quick riposte, Smriti Irani, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Textiles, responded in a similar style, "Ae satta ki bhookh, sabr kar, aankde sath nahi to kya, khudgarzon ko jama kar, mulk ki badnami ka shor to macha hi lenge (Hey hunger for power, be patient, what if you don't have the numbers, at least the noise can be made to malign the country by gathering selfish people)"

She further tweeted , "Not surprising that in his keenness to run down Hon PM, Rahul Gandhi maligns the Nation."

Along with this tweet, Irani posted a statement by Health Minister JP Nadda which read: "Facts vs Fiction on Global Hunger Index to enlighten people who are keen to run down our country by twisting facts."

Twitter War

• Pointing at India’s fall on Global Hunger Index, Rahul Gandhi had tweeted a poem criticising the Centre. 
• Irani responded in a quick riposte, and cited a statement by Health Minister JP Nadda.