What is the easiest way to punch a woman down? Especially when she has taken on the high and mighty and defeated the ones everyone thought were infallible at their home turf? Go for her family, especially her young daughter and while you’re at it, indulge in casting aspersions on her character and question the ‘sanskar’ and her upbringing.
Smriti Irani has been on the receiving end of humiliation since she ‘dared’ to challenge Rahul Gandhi in 2014 itself. There has been constant misogynist, sexist attacks on her, many of which involved sexual innuendos – from all opposition quarters.
In 2015, Congress leader Nilamani Sen Deka the former Assam state Agriculture minister said at a public meeting in Nalbari that many people refer to Smriti Irani as the second wife of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2019, Congress leader had shared an image of Irani with Hukumdev Narayan saying that Smriti is bowing in obeisance in front of a “Rape Guru” while Rahul Gandhi is asked to apologise for his rape remarks. Indrani Mishra had insinuated that Smriti is paying respect to rape accused Swami Chinmayanand, while it was actually veteran MP Hukumdev Narayan Yadav.
Another Congress leader Shashank Bhargava, during a rally in 2020, made another such comment filled with sexual innuendos against Irani. “The hike in fuel prices must be rolled back. In the past, Smriti Irani would roam around with a lot of bangles in her hand. She is close to the Prime Minister and can give her bangles and a lot many other things. I will request her to gift the Prime Minister her bangles and whatever else he wants and ask him to roll back the price hike,” he had said.
Of course, now with the general elections sneaking up on us in less than 2 years’ time, Congress leaders have decided to up their ‘tapasya‘ quotient and take the misogynist attacks a notch higher. Since they could not shake Irani with their jibes, they now decided to attack a woman’s weak point – her children.
Easiest way to ‘show a woman her place’, eh? After all, how dare their beloved Prince be defeated, that too by a woman. Pawan Khera, who was snubbed and overlooked for the Rajya Sabha post, decided to shoot his shot once more to prove his loyalty. He invoked whether her daughter, 18 year old Zoish Irani, ‘running an illegal bar’ in Goa was ‘sanskar’.
Before we get into how this is problematic behaviour, let us get facts straight.
Zoish interned at Silly Soul restaurant and bar in Goa back in 2019 when she was an intern. An intern does not become an owner of the bar, just as how Pawan Khera, despite all his ‘tapasyas’ is unlikely to ever become Congress President. Further, the licence of the bar was in name of the restaurant owner, one Anthony D’Gama. Upon his demise in 2021, the licence would have passed on to his legal heir after appropriate procedure. This year when Anthony D’Gama’s son applied for renewal of licence, he mentioned that the transfer of title shall be concluded in 6 months period. However, the Goa Excise commissioner sent him a show cause notice for the same.
In the reply to RTI, the document on which Congressis have decided to attack Irani, does not mention Zoish Irani or Smriti Irani at all. So Zoish was dragged into controversy because at some point in past, when she was 16 year old, she interned at some place and that place, three years later, may have some irregularity. Images of Zoish when she was 16 were flashed on social media platforms. She may be 18 year old now, but she was a minor girl then.
Now, things get worse. Questions were raised on where were Irani’s ‘sanskar’ that her daughter was running an ‘illegal bar’. Here, the clear intention was to insinuate that the young girl was a person of disrepute because she was ‘running an illegal bar’, a place which serves alcohol. Let me clarify things upfront that any work, as long as it is not illegal, deserves respect and dignity. Just because a woman (not necessarily Zoish) works or worked at a bar, that is in no way a certificate of her character.
So, @IYCGoa Workers visited Tulsi Sanskari Bar & removed the tapes concealing the identity of BAR after the Exposé. pic.twitter.com/iqkiE8d47L
— Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) July 24, 2022
See how ‘BAR’ is in all caps? This same Congress worker is being hailed as some sort of messiah of humanity for his so-called work during oxygen crisis during the pandemic. But here he is, attacking an 18 year old, assassinating her character. Imagine the emotional scars Zoish would have to face because her mother defeated Rahul Gandhi in democratic elections.
Congress workers have graduated from outraging modesty of a woman to settle political scores to outraging modesty of 18-year-old daughter. This when the party is led by a woman. The party that has given India first and only Prime Minister. That party has now stooped this low to make ‘bar’ jokes about an 18 year old. Disgusting.
They say politics is a dirty place, after all, it is a man’s world there. Naturally, it is harder for a woman to not only carve a place for herself but defeat really powerful politicians, like fourth generation politicians, whose father, grandmother and great grandfather have been the Prime Ministers of India. The one who has grown up believing he is the natural heir to the seat of India’s Prime Minister.
In 2014 general elections, Smriti Irani took on Rahul Gandhi, the then 2 time MP from Amethi, a constituency that has sent many members of his family to the Lok Sabha. Rahul Gandhi won the elections but Irani gave him a tough fight. Rahul Gandhi got 4,08,651 votes with 46.71% vote share while Irani clocked in 3,00,748 votes with 34.38% vote share. The previous term, in 2009, Rahul Gandhi had got 4,64,195 votes with 71.78% vote share. So, while Irani may have lost, she gave a tough fight to the crown prince.
For next five years, Irani worked hard and when she again took on Rahul Gandhi in Amethi that year, she had increased not only the vote count but also vote share. Irani got 4,68,514 votes with 49.71% vote share against Rahul Gandhi’s 4,13,394 votes with 43.84%. Rahul Gandhi’s vote share had gone down. Deep down Rahul Gandhi had sensed he was losing Amethi, which is why he chose a second ‘safe seat’ Wayanad in Kerala to contest elections. Yes, Rahul Gandhi had contested from two constituencies and lost the family bastion to Smriti Irani, someone his party leaders including his sister have mocked, ridiculed.
But now when they haven’t been able to break her by attacking her, they have now taken it up a notch higher. They have sent hordes of abusive, mean comments, misogynist attacks and disgusting and vulgar ‘bar’ jokes towards an 18 year old. They want Irani to break and hence are attacking a woman’s weakness, her children. But Irani seems defiant. She has since sent a legal notice and has made up her mind to not let this bog her down.
The grit and determination that she has shown over the years, one hopes has been inculcated in her children as well and they grow up to be as fierce individuals as their mother is. And for Irani herself, here’s hoping she contests 2024 from Amethi as well as Wayanad and emerge victorious from both the seats.
