“They said Smriti Irani has done something for Amethi – then as HRD minister she should look into the IIIT. Why has it not moved forward,” said Ms Vadra, who is touring her mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s constituency Rae Bareli, which adjoins Amethi.
On Tuesday, Ms Irani landed in Amethi to celebrate the BJP-led Modi government’s first year in office. She promised to pay for the insurance of 25,000 women, announced a rail rake of fertiliser and accused Rahul Gandhi of neglecting the needs of the people of Amethi in the 10 years that he has represented it.
She also called herself “the daughter of Amethi,” a title associated in these parts with Ms Vadra, who contrasted her visit with that of the minister by saying, “I usually come quietly and meet the workers.”
Ms Irani, a TV-actress-turned-politician, had contested the national election against Mr Gandhi in Amethi last year. She lost, but managed to reduce Rahul’s winning margin in the Gandhi family pocket-borough.
Earlier this month, Ms Irani was back in Amethi to counter Mr Gandhi’s allegation that the central government has scuttled a food park project that his party’s government had planned in Amethi. He accused Prime Minister Narenda Modi of “political vindictiveness.”
Ms Irani launched a counter attack on Mr Gandhi, accusing him of misrepresenting facts on the food park.
The Amethi IIIT (Indian Institute of Information Technology, a research institute) was inaugurated by Rahul Gandhi in 2005. Last year, the Allahabad institute it is affiliated to wrote to the Human Resource and Development ministry saying it was finding it difficult to run it. The ball is now in Ms Irani’s court.
Priyanka Vadra has not contested elections, but campaigns and works actively in Amethi and Rae Bareli.
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