Irani hits out at Kejriwal over his Tweet on women voters, calls him 'anti-women'

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his tweet in which he urged women to come out in large numbers and vote for the Assembly polls and also discuss it with the men as to who should get their vote.

"Do you not consider women capable enough to decide for themselves who to vote for?" Irani tweeted in Hindi with a hashtag "#AntiWomenKejriwal".

Before polling began in the national capital at 8 am today, Kejriwal while urging people to step out and vote, suggested that women should discuss it with men whom it would be better to vote for.

 

"Please go out and vote today. I especially appeal to the women that just as you uphold responsibilities of your house, you also have to shoulder responsibilities of the country and Delhi. The women must go out and vote and please take the men in your house along with you to vote. Please do discuss it with the men who would it be better to vote for," he tweeted in Hindi.

Polling across 70 Assembly seats is currently underway in Delhi. The city is witnessing a triangular contest among the ruling AAP, which won a landslide majority in the last elections, the BJP and the Congress. In the last election, the AAP had won 67 seats, the BJP 3. Congress didn't open its account.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is hoping to retain power for the second consecutive term. Similarly, the BJP is hopeful to gain a majority by cashing in on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress, which was in power for 15 years at a stretch in Delhi under the leadership of former Chief Minister late Sheila Dixit till the party lost to AAP in 2015 polls, will be hoping for a revival.

AAP is contesting on all 70 seats, while the BJP has fielded its candidates on 67 seats and has left three seats for its allies -- two for JD-U and one for LJP. On the other hand, Congress is contesting on 66 seats and has given four seats to its ally RJD.