At her thanksgiving visit to Amethi, Smriti Irani inaugurates public welfare projects

Nearly a month after her thumping victory against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in his family bastion Amethi, Union minister Smriti Irani on Saturday laid the foundation stone for several public welfare projects during her two-day thanksgiving visit to all the five assembly segments in the Uttar Pradesh town. The key schemes, which include Rs 136 crore road projects and Rs 448 crore power projects, aim at ensuring basic amenities in the constituency.

In an apparent reference to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Irani said, "No one had imagined that a woman from a simple family will be given opportunity to be your representative. In a region which was the stronghold of 'naamdaar', where it was believed that even if MP doesn't return for 5 yrs, people will accept him".

"A social revolution came here when everyone went to polling booths, pressed 'Lotus' and gave a message that democracy has not been made for 'naamdaar'," the BJP leader reiterated while addressing a public gathering in Amethi.

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Union Minister Smriti Irani in Amethi: A social revolution came here when everyone went to polling booths, pressed 'Lotus' & gave a message that democracy has not been made for 'naamdaar'. https://t.co/uGGfINMh8W

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 22, 2019

Irani, accompanied with Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya and District Incharge Minister Mohsin Raza, also paid visit to the Baraulia village of Amethi and met the family members of Surendra Singh, the slained BJP worker.

Surendra Singh (50), a former head of Baraulia village, around 25 km from the Amethi district headquarters, was shot at around 11.30 pm on Saturday. Singh was referred to a Lucknow hospital, but succumbed during treatment.

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This was Irani's first planned visit to Amethi after she bagged the crucial parliamentary constituency in the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections 2019. On May 25, Irani rushed to the Uttar Pradesh city after Singh was shot dead in Baraulia.

In a thumping performance, the Union Minister defeated Congress chief and then sitting MP Rahul Gandhi by a margin of 55,120 votes in Amethi, which has remained loyal to the Gandhi family since 1980.