Congress leader Ajay Rai courted controversy on Monday, December 19, when he made misogynistic comments about the Amethi Lok Sabha MP and Union minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani. Ajay Rai, who is mainly identified as a Gandhi family loyalist, said that the Amethi MP comes to her constituency only to show ‘latke and jhatke’.
During a press interaction, Congress leader Rai said, “Most of the factories in Amethi are on the verge of closure. Half of the factories in Jagdishpur Industrial Area are lying shut. Smriti Irani comes, shows ‘latka-jhatka’, and leaves.”
Rai further added that Amethi has always been a Gandhi family bastion and that they will ask a Gandhi family member to fight from there in 2024.
Rahul Gandhi loyalist Ajay Rai makes shocking “latke jhatke” comment on Smriti Irani ji
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) December 19, 2022
This is not a Sanyog – it is a prayog sponsored by first family to take political revenge bcoz Smriti ji defeated the dynast – Congress even insulted 1st Woman Adivasi President pic.twitter.com/72KH1WM9iM
In response, Amethi MP Smriti Irani, who is known for giving back as good as she gets, called out the misogynist comments of Ajay Rai and dared Rahul Gandhi to fight from Amethi during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In her tweet, Irani asked Rahul Gandhi whether she should consider it confirmed that Rahul Gandhi will fight from Amethi in 2024. Notably, Rahul Gandhi chose to fight from Wayanad in addition to Amethi in 2019, and he went on to lose from Amethi to Smriti Irani.
सुना है @RahulGandhi जी आपने अपने किसी प्रांतीय नेता से अभद्र तरीके से 2024 में अमेठी से लड़ने की घोषणा करवाई है।
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) December 19, 2022
तो क्या आपका अमेठी से लड़ना पक्का समझूँ? दूसरी सीट पर तो नहीं भागेंगे? डरेंगे तो नहीं???
PS: You & Mummy ji need to get your mysoginistic goons a new speechwriter.
BJP also took exception to the remarks of Ajay Rai as party spokesperson Anand Dubey said, “Such a remark from a leader of the party which gave the woman prime minister to the nation, is definitely shameful”.
Amethi was considered to be the safest seat for the first family of Congress till 2019 along with Rae Bareli, however, Smriti Irani staged a huge upset when she defeated the Nehru-Gandhi family’s scion Rahul Gandhi in the last Lok Sabha election. Sensing defeat ahead of the elections, Rahul Gandhi chose to fight from Wayanad in Kerala as well along with Amethi.
