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Updated December 20th, 2021 at 08:02 IST

Smriti Irani takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi: 'Hindu not one who wears janau before polls'

Kicking off the 'Jan Vishwas Yatra' from Ghazipur, Union Minister Smriti Irani coined a definition of a 'Hindu', countering Rahul Gandhi's 'Hindu Vs Hindutva

Smriti Irani
IMAGE: Twitter/PTI | Image:self
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Kicking off the 'Jan Vishwas Yatra' from Ghazipur on Sunday, Union Minister Smriti Irani coined another definition of a 'Hindu'. Countering Rahul Gandhi's 'Hindu Vs Hindutva' quip, Irani poked fun at the sudden appearance of a 'janau' on Gandhi in elections. She clarified, 'Hindu is one who gives gas connection, roads for people from all caste and religion can walk on'. The 403-seat UP assembly where Yogi rules with an iron-clad majority of 314 seats, is up for grabs in February 2022.

"Hindu is not the one who wears Janeu over the coat as soon as the election comes. Hindu is the one who blesses Ujjwala in the house of the poor and gets the road constructed, then people of every religion and caste should walk together on it," said Irani. Apart from Irani, other BJP leaders - UP CM Yogi Adityanath, party chief JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari flagged off the Yatras from different parts of UP.

On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra repeated his distinction of 'Hindu' and 'Hindutvavadi'. Holding a 'padyatra' in his bastion Amethi, the ex-Congress chief claimed, "Hindu is one who does not fear from the truth, who faces his fears, who does not let hate takeover. Hindutvavadi is one who uses hatred to create fear. Hindus will never lose".

BJP's 'Jan Vishwas Yatra'

On Sunday, BJP flagged off its 'Jan Vishwas Yatra' from six different locations - Bijnor, Mathura, Jhansi, Ghazipur, Ambedkar Nagar, and Ballia. Adityanath kicked off a Yatra from Mathura to Pilbhit, Nadda flagged off a Yatra from Ambedkar Nagar while Rajnath Singh kicked off the third Yatra from Jhansi to Kanpur. Gadkari flagged off the fourth yatra starting from Bidurkoti in Bijnor to Rampur, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan flagged a fifth Yatra from Ballia to Basti and Irani commenced the sixth Yatra from Ghazipur to Amethi. Notably, all six Yatras will culminate in Lucknow on January 10, 2022.

BJP has announced that it will fight along with allies Nishad Party and  Apna Dal (S) under the leadership of CM Yogi Adityanath. On the other hand, SP chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav has stated that SP will only ally with smaller political parties for the 2022 Assembly polls. He has tied up with Mahan Dal, NCP, SBSP, RLD, PSPL and has kept his doors open for AIMIM, AAP. BSP chief Mayawati has already announced that her party will fight polls alone in UP and Uttarakhand, while allying only with Akali Dal in Punjab. Congress, under Vadra is eyeing its solo return.

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Published December 20th, 2021 at 08:01 IST

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