Union Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday unleashed a tirade against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and asserted that the latter highlighting that the grand old party donned arrogance in the 2012, under the helm of his mother Sonia Gandhi, and hence lost elections is a huge political confession.
Cornering Gandhi over his comments in regard with 'dynasty politics', Irani said none of the incumbent top leaders of the nation are dynasts.
"Rahul Gandhi said in 2012 he realised that the Congress is becoming arrogant but he forgot that it was the year when his mother Sonia Gandhi took over as the Congress president. To say that Congress became arrogant under Smt. Gandhi and hence lost election is a big political confession in itself," Irani said.
"Rahul Gandhi said dynasts run India, but our own Prime Minister, our President and our Vice-President are not dynasts," she added.
Downplaying Gandhi's comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Irani said it was not surprising rather was expected out of a failed dynast.
"A failed dynast today chose to speak about his failed political journeys in US. Rahul Gandhi belittled his political opponents in America. It is not surprising that a dynast has absolutely no support," said Irani.
More From This Section
"The fact that Rahul Gandhi chose to belittle the Prime Minister is not surprising rather it was expected. After not getting any support within the country, Rahul Gandhi is expressing his pain in foreign land," she added.
Gandhi on Monday hit back at those who have accused him of reaping the benefits of "dynasty politics", and justified the charges against him, saying that the entire nation is running on it and hence, one should not go only after him.
Responding to a poser at the University of California in Berkeley, Rahul didn't even spare the Ambanis and the Bachchans and said that in every field, there are numerous dynasts.
"Most of the country runs like this. Akhilesh Yadav is a dynast. Stalin is a dynast. Dhumal's son is a dynast. Even Abhishek Bachchan is a dynast. Also Mr. Ambani, that's how India runs. Don't go after me," he said here.
The Congress vice-president even said that there are many people in the party, who are not a part of the dynasty politics.
"The real question is if a person is capable. Is the person sensitive?" he added.
He also accused Prime Minister Modi of massively opening up space for the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
"For nine years, I worked behind the scenes with former prime minister Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh and others on Jammu and Kashmir. When we started, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir, when we finished there was peace, we had broken the back of terrorism. By 2013, we basically broke the back of terror, I hugged then prime minister Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of the biggest achievements," he added.
He further said that the People's Democratic Party (PDP) had been instrumental in bringing youngsters in politics, but the day Prime Minister Modi made alliance with the PDP, he destroyed them.
"So he (PM Modi) massively opened up the space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and you saw the increase in violence," he added.