Union Minister Smriti Irani responded on Wednesday to Priyanka Gandhis accusations that Prime Minister Narendra Modis speeches lack factual basis, throwing down the gauntlet for an open debate between the Congress general secretary, her brother Rahul Gandhi, and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson.In her statement, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra challenged PM Modi to address issues such as unemployment, inflation, and the struggles faced by farmers instead of relying on imagination. In response, Smriti Irani called on the Gandhi siblings to specify the platform, host, time, and topic for a debate with a BJP representative.#WATCH | Amethi, UP | Union Minister Smriti Irani says, I challenge them (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi) to pick time and date and the issue to debate on with BJP. Dono bhai-behen ek taraf aur BJP ka ek pravakta ek taraf, doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani ho… pic.twitter.com/AZMQPYYF1z— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2024I challenge them (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi) to pick any channel, anchor, place, time and issue to debate with the BJP. Dono bhai-behen ek taraf aur BJP ka ek pravakta ek taraf, doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani ho jaayega (On one side, there will be the brother-sister duo and on the other side, there will be a spokesperson of the BJP everything will be clear). Smriti Irani conveyed to a news agency.In response to Iranis challenge, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate threw a counter-challenge, inviting the minister to debate with her on any platform, date, time, and topic of Iranis choosing. Shrinate emphasised that Irani lacked the stature to engage with the top leadership of the Congress and urged her to accept the challenge rather than resorting to rhetorical statements.स्मृति ईरानी,चुनौती देती हूँ आपको - मेरे साथ एक डिबेट कर लीजिएजगह आपकी, दिन आपका, एंकर आपका और मुद्दा भी आपकाहै हिम्मत कांग्रेस के शीर्ष नेतृत्व से बात करने का तो आपका क़द नहींइन लच्छेदार बयानों के ज़रिये वजूद की लड़ाई लड़नी बंद कीजिए, चुनौती स्वीकारिये @smritiirani https://t.co/b9SmWpBYUx— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) May 8, 2024Priyanka Gandhi also addressed PM Modis recent claims, accusing him of relying heavily on imagination rather than facts in his speeches. She highlighted instances where PM Modi made outlandish statements, from accusing the Congress of planning to steal buffaloes to inventing scenarios about X-ray machines finding peoples jewels. Priyanka Gandhi remarked that such remarks, if not coming from the Prime Minister, would be laughable, given the seriousness of the office he holds.
