Rahul Gandhi tells supporters to stop 'being nasty' to Smriti Irani: 'Humiliating people a sign of weakness'

Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday urged people to “refrain from using derogatory language and being nasty” towards former Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani and other leaders.

Taking to microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter), the former Congress president 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.

It is important to note that in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, former Union minister Irani lost the Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh to veteran Congress worker and Gandhi family confidant Kishori Lal Sharma by a margin of 1.5 lakh votes. In 2019, Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi in his stronghold, Amethi, by a margin of over 55,000 votes.

After losing the polls in Lok Sabha elections, Irani thanked those who supported her.

“I express my gratitude to all the BJP party workers and supporters, those who have worked in the service of the constituency and the party with utmost dedication and fidelity…I congratulate those who win. I will continue to be in the service of the people of Amethi.”

In another post on X, she wrote:

“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”.

In the 2024 general elections, Rahul Gandhi contested and won in Rae Bareli and Wayanad constituencies, but later, he resigned from the Kerala constituency. The Congress has announced that party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest from Wayanad.