Rahul, who used to talk about relief to farmers, did not return their land taken by Rajiv Gandhi Foundation here, she said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) top leaders on Tuesday targetted Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi at his turf in Amethi. BJP chief Amit Shah accompanied by union minister Smriti Irani and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath accused the Congress of the "lack of development" in Amethi.
Smriti Irani who led a high-voltage campaign against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in 2014 tried to convince voters that she would upset the plan of Congress in Amethi in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In 2014, Rahul Gandhi secured 4,08,651 votes against Irani's 3,00,748. Though Irani lost to the Congress vice president in Amethi, she managed to reduce his victory margin from around 3.70 lakh in 2009 to 1.07 lakh in 2014.
Smriti Irani alleged that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation here had not returned land taken from farmers.
Irani was addressing a public meeting in this constituency, seen as a bastion of the Congress, along with BJP president Amit Shah.
"Rahul, who used to talk about relief to farmers, did not return their land taken by Rajiv Gandhi Foundation here," the Union minister for information and broadcasting and textiles said.
In a broadside against the Congress vice president and Amethi MP, Irani said she wanted to address those who saw Amethi just from the vote bank point of view.
"There is no collector's office here. If Rahul is hearing me today I want to say that you used to talk about development in the country and abroad. You make a mockery of development in Gujarat," she said.
Referring to the closure of a cycle factory called SamratBSE 2.22 %, she said, "... the country was surprised that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, headed by Rahul, which did not do any commercial activities has purchased it. The land should be freed and given back to the farmers."
Irani had created a stir in 2015 when she accused the top Congress leadership of usurping nearly 65 acres of land acquired from farmers for setting up a manufacturing unit, Samrat Cycle, a project that never materialised.
Noting that the BJP won four out of five seats during the 2017 assembly polls when Shah had come here, Irani said, "In 2019 (Lok Sabha polls) BJP will win here."
(With PTI inputs)
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