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Words Count festival Pune: do not want to be Prime Minister says Smriti Irani
The day-long festival was curated by Advaita Kala, prominent author and columnist and saw the presence of veterans from politics, films, literature and education
Union minister for textiles, Smriti Irani on Sunday said she will leave politics the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi decides to hang his boots.
“He (Modi) is going to be around for a very long time”, said Irani. When asked as to when will she be seen as ‘Pradhan Sevak (prime servant) Smriti Irani’, the minister responded saying, “Never.” She further added, “I came into politics to work under charismatic leaders. I was very lucky to work under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and I am currently serving under the leadership of Modi. The day Pradhan Sevak Modi decides that he will hang his boots, that day, I will also leave Indian Politics.”
She was speaking at ‘Words Count’ – a festival of words hosted in Pune. Smriti was interviewed by Advaita Kala, the curator of the festival and noted columnist. Continuing the point, Smriti also said that “I will leave the office doesn’t mean that I will leave the family”.
Linking it with the upcoming general elections in the country, when asked “How’s the Josh” a popular dialogue from the recent more Uri Irani replied saying, ‘‘The Josh is very high!”
Talking about contesting elections from Amethi against Rahul Gandhi said, ‘‘Whether I will contest from Amethi is something only Amit Shah can decide. When I fought the election in 2014, some people said, ‘Smriti Who’, in 2019,they definitely know who I am.’’
Smriti Irani who is active on social media and having been on the receiving end of Internet trolls said, ‘‘I might be one of the few people who have been equally trolled by celebrated journalists and politicians. The basic intention behind sexually objectifying you is to break your spirit. But I’ll not let these malicious intentions succeed.’’
Smriti calls herself a dedicated Sanghi who is a ‘Janam Jaat Bhajpaayi’ and feels that women should come ahead and connect to create a platform. Among women politicians Irani said she admired Sushma Swaraj and Sumitra Mahajan, as when they began their political careers the political atmosphere was worse that it is today and that she looked up to them for inspiration.
“I hail from the economical weaker section of the society. So as a child when I told my mother that someday I would become someone big, she would wish for sense to prevail in me as according to her, nobody from such little means should have the audacity to even dream to touch the sky. It is that audacity of mine that she cherishes today” said Irani adding that she is where she is today, only because of her mother.
Owaisi’s note to Cong, BJP: Don’t indulge in religion-based politics
Asaduddin Owaisi, president,All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) said on Sunday that the secular constitution of the country drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar has saved India from becoming a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ ( Hindu nation). He was speaking during the second edition of Words Count - the festival of words held in the city.
Owaisi spoke on a number of issues during the interaction session with Prafulla Ketkar,editor, organiser, mouth piece of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The day-long festival was curated by Advaita Kala, prominent author and columnist and saw the presence of veterans from politics, films, literature and education.
Owaisi addressed a volley of questions on faith, minority issues and current national politics.
He said that the draconian acts like The Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) are being selectively used against the weaker sections of the society especially Muslims.
A case in point of abuse of power is that of Pune police which went ahead with the arrest of professor Anand Teltumbde in spite of Supreme Court granting him protection against arrest for four weeks,” said Owaisi.
Taking a dig at the two national parties - Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Owaisi said that both were two sides of the same coin and were engaging the citizens in the politics of competitive Hindutva. “The parties should focus on development of the nation rather than indulging in religion based politics,” he said.
Owaisi lamented that there was poor representation of Muslims in both legislative bodies and the parliament.
“There are only 22 Muslim parliamentarians for 14 per cent of Indian Muslims. There is not a single Muslim parliamentarian from Maharashtra. Why are political parties shying away from giving space to Muslim candidates during elections,” he said.
Our last ideological battle will be at JNU: ABVP secretary
Sunil Ambekar, organising secretary, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Sunday said that their members have spread across India and now the final ideological battle will be fought at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He was speaking at the Words Count festival.
“Professors at the JNU are misguiding students and working as activists instead of being teachers. Our final idealogical battle will happen there,” said Ambekar while answering a question posed by a journalist.
On nationalism, Ambekar said that every Indian is a nationalist and should express their nationalism through their honest work.
When quizzed about the unemployment level reaching the lowest level in 45 years, Ambekar said that students should look for entrepreneurship and self-reliance. “No government can provide government jobs for all. Government can only create conducive environment and a supportive system for the people to create and receive lucrative opportunities,” he said.
Ambekar said that ABVP has played a pivotal role in Skill India policy and has made it more accessible to students. He also said that their programme ‘Mission Sahasi’ has trained 8 lakh women in self-defence.
While speaking about ABVP, Ambekar highlighted that ABVP is a student organisation that has formed on ideological foundation of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). “It was formed right after Independence with a vision of nation building. ABVP has always put nation first and has been working towards creative conducive environment for youth,” said Ambekar.
