Rahul Gandhi using students as political fodder: Smriti Irani

Accusing Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi of turning education into a battlefield, Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani on Monday said that he was using students as 'political fodder' in revenge for the challenge posed by her in his constituency- Amethi.

"Rahul Gandhi wants to take revenge for Amethi with me. He wants to make education a battlefield and is using students and political fodder. Now that Rahul is hell-bent on revenge, he will keep churning allegations against me," Irani told the media here.

Asserting that she was not rattled by Rahul's constant volleys against her, she added that she was capable of giving him a fitting reply in the Parliament.

"If Rahul wants to take the fight from Amethi and out into the country I have no objections to that. I went to Amethi when the Congress was in power at the Centre. If I wasn't afraid of him them, why should I now? I'm fully capable of replying him in Parliament," Irani added.

Even since Irani lost to Gandhi in Amethi in 2014, she has been making constant trips to the constituency announcing several schemes besides setting up a nodal office of sorts for the Lok Sabha constituency at her residence in Delhi, posing a challenge to the Congress.