Smriti Irani said power has moved from the palace to the people.
The BJP on Friday derided the opposition parties' efforts to forge a front against it and said the Congress was seeking the support of others because it was "incapable of defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi alone" in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Top leaders of Opposition parties went into a huddle in Patna on Friday to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-BJP front for next year's general elections. The meeting was hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani took a dig at JDU and other opposition parties, saying it was "ironic" that some of the leaders who witnessed the "murder of democracy" during the Emergency have assembled under the Congress' parasol in Patna.
They have sent out a message that they are unable to take on PM Modi on their own, she claimed. "I want to especially express gratitude to the Congress for openly announcing that it is incapable of defeating PM Modi alone. It needs support," said Ms Irani.
"Power has moved from the palace to the people. That's why people who take pride in their political legacy now have to go to those whom they had put behind bars during Emergency," she added.
In a veiled attack on the Bihar Chief Minister, Ms Irani referred to the recent bridge collapse over the Ganga in the state's Bhagalpur district, and asked, "What kind of democratic bridge will they make. They cannot even build a bridge"
"People are becoming alert about those who could not come together on development issues but are now adopting the blackmail route," Ms Irani said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)