Union Minister Smriti Irani has issued legal notice to Congress leaders for dragging her personal life into politics and casting aspersions on her 18 year old daughter, Zoish Irani. In a notice addressed to Congress leaders Pawan Khera, Jairam Ramesh, Netta D’Souza and the party itself through its President Sonia Gandhi, Irani has sought them to cease and desist from dissemination of defamatory, derogatory, false and misleading information and allegations on her daughter.
Irani has said that the above leaders have conspired with each other and with other unknown individuals and organisations to launch a series of scathing and belligerent personal attacks against her with oblique motive to malign, defame, injure her and the family’s reputation based on series of falsehoods and gross misinterpretation.
Irani said that the allegations against her daughter were made on behest of the congress leaders at the press briefing addressed at Congress party headquarters. Irani, in her legal notice, has reiterated that her daughter Zoish was never involved in running any bar in Goa and that she had also never applied for any licence for ‘running’ any bar or for any business enterprise. Further, she has also not been served any show cause notice from Excise Department of Goa till date.
In her legal notice, Irani said that the show cause notice issued by the Goa Excise Department was not even in her daughter Zoish’s name as mentioned by Congress in the press conference. She said how it was factually incorrect and the allegations were put across to sensationalise and magnify series of innuendos that has not only hurt Irani’s and her daughter’s reputation but also an attempt to outraging their modesty.
Irani said that the insistence of the Congress leaders to invoke value system of Irani with reference to her ‘sanskar’ were an attempt to make her and her young daughter social outcastes by insinuating that the act of running a bar makes the women disreputable.
She further said that the allegations were baseless and unsubstantiated and published and disseminated without any verification and hence it was a part of larger conspiracy to garner political mileage by sensationalising falsities, misinterpretations and false narratives. Irani added that the false allegations were intended to hurt her reputation as a minister and a person in public life and also to outrage her modesty and that of her daughter.
Subsequently, in her notice she has called upon the Congress leaders to tender a written and unconditional apology within 24 hours and the same should be widely disseminated in print media as well as social media. She has also said that the allegations be unconditionally withdrawn from all platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Congress leaders are also asked to further cease and desist from disseminating the content regarding the allegations on Zoish Irani. Failing this, Irani has said she will initiate civil and criminal proceedings against the Congress leaders.
Congress accused Smriti Irani’s daughter Zoish of running an illegal ‘bar’ in Goa
Congress leaders on Saturday accused her 18-year old daughter Zoish Irani of running an illegal bar in Goa and asked PM Modi to sack Irani from the cabinet. Rubbishing allegations against her daughter, Irani hauled Congress leaders over the coals and challenged them to show her daughter’s name in the show cause notice they had flashed in the press conference.
Addressing the media, Irani had said on Saturday, that the allegations against her daughter were levelled at the behest of the Congress leadership, i.e the Gandhi family, because she dared to hold a press conference and question Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi about the Rs 5,000 crore loot of the Indian treasury.
Facts of Zoish Irani case
Zoish Irani is currently a student and pursuing her studies. She is neither the owner of the restaurant nor has any stake in it. According to sources, the licence of the restaurant was in name of one Anthony D’Gama and was applied for by his son. In February 2021, when the licence was issued, Anthony D’Gama was alive. The same was renewed in April 2021 and was valid till 31 March 2022 as is the norm.
However, when the license had to be renewed for the financial year 2022-23, the son of the owner applied on the same grounds as he had applied earlier and had specifically stated in the application that he would get the same transferred in his name within a period of 6 months as his father had passed away. As his legal heir, the process of transfer of licence has been initiated and prescribed fees have been paid as per sources. However, the renewed licence is yet to be issued.
Sources say that the person who has led the allegations, one Aires Rodrigues, himself has a series of legal cases slapped against him especially regarding his nationality and has a history of attacking the BJP as well as the leaders. Rodrigues had also wished death upon former Goa CM and ex Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who recently passed away after prolonged cancer. Rodrigues is one lawyer and also identifies himself as ‘RTI activist’.
On 21 July 2022, Goa’s Excise Commissioner Narayan Gad issued a show cause notice to Silly Souls Cafe and Bar in Goa on complaint of Rodrigues. Rodrigues had alleged that the licence obtained was “fraudulent and fabricated documents were produced”. However, as per a Times of India report, the RTI reply on Goa licence does not mention either Smriti Irani or her daughter, Zoish Irani.
