'Don't Be Nasty Towards Smriti Irani': Rahul Gandhi's Appeal On X

In a rare gesture, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has made an appeal on social media asking people to refrain from "being nasty" towards former Union Minister Smriti Irani, who had defeated him in Amethi with a margin of over 55,000 votes in 2019 and then lost to Gandhi family loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma - who was making his electoral debut - by over 1.6 lakh votes in this year's general elections.

This was after she had taken a dig at the Gandhis, saying that "an ordinary BJP worker had sent the Gandhi family packing".

In a tweet on X on Friday, Mr Gandhi, who is now the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, wrote, "Winning and losing happen in life. I urge everyone to refrain from using derogatory language and being nasty towards Smt. Smriti Irani or any other leader for that matter."

"Humiliating and insulting people is a sign of weakness, not strength," he added.

While it's not clear what specific instance prompted the appeal, it is in line with Mr Gandhi's stance that he wants an alternative brand of politics. He has repeatedly said that he wants to open a "mohabbat ki dukaan" (shop of love) in what he has termed an atmosphere of hatred. 

'Proclamation Of Defeat'

Before the elections, there was a strong buzz that Rahul Gandhi would contest against Smriti Irani from the family bastion of Amethi in 2024 and his sister Priyanka Gandhi would fight from Rae Bareli, another bastion that had been vacated by their mother Sonia Gandhi, who is now a Rajya Sabha MP.

Rahul Gandhi and the Congress had opted to field him from Wayanad in Kerala and Rae Bareli instead, and Kishori Lal Sharma was pitted against Ms Irani in Amethi.

When Mr Sharma's candidature was announced, Ms Irani, who was the Union minister for Women and Child development at the time, had sneered, "I think the Congress nomination and the entire Gandhi family backing out from a battle in Amethi is significant because, as far as I am concerned, it is the proclamation of defeat of the Congress party from Amethi."

"This is not the first time Mr Rahul Gandhi has run away from Amethi. He had run away in 2019 as well. The only difference is last time he sought comfort in Wayanad and this time he chose not to contest at all. So it is the second time Mr Gandhi shied away from a battle in Amethi," she had told NDTV. 

After her defeat - which came as a shock to her, the BJP and poll watchers - Ms Irani had said that her spirits were still high. 

"Such is life... A decade of my life going from one village to another, building lives, nurturing hope & aspirations, working on infrastructure ― roads, naali, khadanja, bypass, medical college and more. To those who stood by me through loss and victory, I am forever grateful. To those celebrating today, congratulations. And to those asking, "How's the josh?" I say- it's still high, Sir," she had posted on X.