Page 4 - Smriti Irani

Smriti Irani's portfolio to abuse Cong, Gandhi family, says KC Venugopal

The Congress' parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said the women's reservation bill "is ours", as the bill was about to be tabled in Parliament

Scale of craft business to improve through Vishwakarma Yojana: Smriti Irani

On the occasion of his 73rd birthday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Vishwakarma Yojana scheme today to mark the birth anniversary of Lord Vishwakarma

Amit Shah cancels Dantewada tour; Smriti Irani to flag off parivartan yatra

Chhattisgarh Assembly elections: The Bharatiya Janata Party in the state is set to organise two 'parivartan yatras' on September 12 and September 16

No one can challenge our Dharma: Smriti Irani on Udhayanidhi's remarks

"Our voices must reach those people who challenged 'Sanatan Dharma'. Till devotees are alive, no one can challenge our 'dharma' and faith...", she said

Want Rahul Gandhi to contest from Amethi in 2024: UP Congress chief

The people of Amethi want to rectify their "mistake" of 2019 and Congress workers as well as leaders are demanding that Rahul Gandhi contest from the constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party's Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai said. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had contested the 2019 general elections from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and Wayanad in Kerala. He lost Amethi to BJP leader Smriti Irani. The seat was won by him in 2004, 2009 and 2014, and was considered a Congress bastion. Sonia Gandhi had won from Amethi in 1999. Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had also represented the constituency in Lok Sabha. On the recently formed opposition grouping Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), in which the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress are partners, he asserted that the alliance formed for the parliamentary elections will be successful in Uttar Pradesh in defeating the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Rai added that the Congress-SP tie

PM Modi has worked for welfare of women since coming to power: Irani

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been working for the welfare of women since coming to power, Union minister Smriti Irani said on Friday, underlining the need to celebrate the empowerment of women at the grassroots level. Irani, however, refused to comment on the possibility of a legislation on the women's reservation bill being brought in Parliament, even though she said the BJP had supported as opposition when it was tabled in Rajya Sabha. The women and child development minister was speaking at the launch of journalist Nidhi Sharma's book 'She, the Leader: Women in Indian Politics'. BRS leader K Kavitha, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, and Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari also attended the book launch. Talking to the author, Irani said there has been a tectonic shift when it comes to women in politics. "One needs to celebrate that there is a quintessential surge in democracy from panchayat level. Even in general seats more and more women are participating," Irani said. She said while th

No confidence motion LIVE: Oppn's no-trust motion defeated in Lok Sabha

Catch all the latest updates related to the no-confidence motion debate from the Lok Sabha here

Day 2 of no-confidence motion: Here are the top highlights from Parliament

From Rahul Gandhi's attack on government over Manipur issue to Amit Shah's response, here are the top highlights from all that happened in Parliament today

BJP MPs file complaint against Rahul Gandhi over flying kiss in Parliament

While walking out of the Lok Sabha premises, Rahul Gandhi blew a flying kiss to BJP MPs, and Smriti Irani's speech was underway

Smriti Irani slams Congress over Rahul's 'murder of India' remark

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday came down heavily on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his "murder of India in Manipur" remark in Lok Sabha, saying this is for the first time in parliamentary democracy that someone has made such a statement. Speaking soon after Gandhi concluded his speech on the no-confidence debate in the House, the BJP member, who is minister for women and child development, said Manipur is an integral part of India. "I condemn the behaviour that was displayed. This is the first time that someone talked about the murder of India, and Congress leaders were thumping desks," Irani said. "Manipur is not divided, it is a part of this country. A member of his (opposition) alliance said in Tamil Nadu that India only means north India. If he has the courage, Rahul Gandhi should comment on this... another Congress leader said there should be a referendum on Kashmir... Was the statement given as per the order of the Congress leadership that a leader talked about ...

Women-led development deliberations take centre stage at G20: Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said thanks to his vision women-led development had become a subject of deliberations during the G20 leadership meetings for the first time. She was addressing a press conference here on the outcomes of the 'Ministerial Conference on Women's Empowerment', which concluded at Mahatma Mandir during the day. "Before India took over the G20 presidency, women-related subjects were never at the centre of discussions. Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision, for the first time in the history of G20, women-led development became a subject of deliberations during G20 leadership meetings. For the first time, women-led agenda was central to the discussion in G20," Irani said. In the past, G20 never saw participation of women from rural or humble backgrounds, but under India's presidency, such women have now found a voice in G20, the Union Women and Child Development minister added. "The Indian G20 presidenc

Sex ratio at birth improves by 15 points to 933 in 2022-23: Centre

The sex ratio at birth has improved by 15 points from 918 in 2014-15 to 933 in 2022-23 in the country, Union minister Smriti Irani told the Lok Sabha on Friday. Responding to a question in the Lower House of Parliament, the women and child development minister said the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' scheme has stirred up collective consciousness towards changing the mindset of the public to acknowledge the rights of the girl child. "The scheme has raised concerns around the issue of declining CSR (child sex ratio) in India. This is reflected in the improvement of the sex ratio at birth (SRB) by 15 points at the national level, that is, from 918 in 2014-15 to 933 in 2022-23," she said in a written response. The sex ratio at birth for a given population, over a time period, is the ratio of the number of male live births to the number of female live births in the population, scaled to a denominator of 100.

Spoke to CM, assured of strict action: Smriti Irani on Manipur video

Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani has said that she has spoken to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh over the May 4 video showing two women being paraded naked by some men in the state. She termed the incident "condemnable and downright inhuman". In a tweet on Thursday night, the Union minister said, "The horrific video of sexual assault of two women emanating from Manipur is condemnable and downright inhuman. Spoke to CM N Biren Singh ji who has informed me that investigation is currently underway and assured that no effort will be spared to bring perpetrators to justice." Later, in another tweet, she said, "PM @narendramodi ji appealed to the Chief Ministers of all the states - work with dedication for women's safety, respect and protection. Whether the incident is from Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh or Manipur, those who commit crimes against women will not be spared". The BJP has been highlighting cases of crimes against women in Congress-ruled states like ...

Spoke to Manipur CM over video of two women paraded naked: Smriti Irani

Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani has said that she has spoken to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh over the May 4 video showing two women being paraded naked by some men in the state. She termed the incident "condemnable and downright inhuman". In a tweet on Thursday night, the Union minister said, "The horrific video of sexual assault of two women emanating from Manipur is condemnable and downright inhuman. Spoke to CM N Biren Singh ji who has informed me that investigation is currently underway and assured that no effort will be spared to bring perpetrators to justice." Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after a May 4 video surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a few men from the other side. The video was doing the rounds on the eve of a planned protest march announced by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) on Thursday to highlight their plight. Police said a case of abduction, ga

Review cases of older children who could be made free for adoption: Irani

Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani asked the child welfare committees on Sunday to visit child-care homes and review the cases of older children who could be made free for adoption as soon as possible. Many children living in child-care homes are not legally free for adoption. According to official figures, there are around 66,000 children residing child-care homes across the country and less than 3,000 of them are legally free for adoption. Speaking at a regional symposium on "Child Protection, Safety and Child Welfare" that was attended by child welfare committee members and officials from child-care institutions among others, Irani asked the CWCs to visit the child-care homes and review the cases of older children who could be made free for adoption at the earliest. Irani said the women and child development ministry has already reviewed two states, looked into 9,000 cases of older children and identified 164 such children who could be made legally free for ...

FIR against Malviya shows how far Gandhi family can go to hide truth: BJP

The BJP on Wednesday launched a scathing counterattack on the Congress over the registration of an FIR against its IT department head Amit Malviya in Karnataka, claiming that the Gandhi family has again given a proof of how far it can go to suppress the truth if it gets power. Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani reiterated her party's allegations against Rahul Gandhi that he "hobnobbed" with people with suspicious credentials, including those close to billionaire investor George Soros who wants to "destabilise" the democratically elected Indian government, during his recent visit to the US. She also attacked Gandhi for the involvement of Tanzeem Ansari of the Islamic Circle of North America in hosting a programme of the Indian diaspora during his visit, saying Ansari has an organisational link with the Jamaat-e-Islami. A House of Representatives resolution in the US had earlier expressed concern about the threat posed to democracy by theocratic groups operating in south Asia,

Wolves hunt in packs but they can't hunt lion: Smriti Irani on Oppn meeting

Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani on Saturday took a jibe at the meeting of opposition parties held in Patna, saying wolves hunt in packs but they do not know that they cannot hunt a lion. She also alleged that the target of Friday's opposition conclave was not Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "but the people of the country and the exchequer". "As soon as I came to Indore, the media asked me what my reaction was to the Opposition's gathering in Patna yesterday," Irani said addressing a public gathering organised here to mark the completion of the Modi government's nine years in power. There is a saying in English that wolves hunt in packs but they do not know that they can't hunt a lion," Irani said. She also spoke at an event organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party to mark the completion of nine years of the Modi government. Prominent women from Indore were invited to this programme. "There has been a gathering (of Opposition parties), but its target was not Modi, but you

Pack of wolves whose prey is India's future: BJP on opposition unity

As more than a dozen opposition parties came together against the BJP on Friday, the ruling party called it a "multi-headed selfish alliance" and compared it with wolves hunting in packs. Addressing a press conference here soon after the opposition unity meeting in Bihar's Patna, BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani said this coming together of the parties was not targeted at Prime Minister Narendra Modi but the country's coffers. "It is said that wolves hunt in packs! A political pack met in Patna. Their 'prey' is the future of India," Irani said. She said this alliance of selfishness was being forged with India as its target. "Whenever these political parties came together, they brought corruption, nepotism and brought with them the allegation of constricting the economic progress of the nation," she added. Irani said the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) blackmailing at the beginning itself shows the future of the unholy alliance. "It is ironic that Trinamool Congress Party member

'Pradhan sevak' Modi is leading India's heritage through yoga at UN: Irani

"It is the imagination of PM Modi that India should be healthy and it should achieve a tremendous position in the economic system with the spirit of innovation," she said

Kejriwal failed to deliver on 24x7 electricity promise, says Smriti Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani criticised Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, saying the AAP leader "can do whatever he wants but the people of Delhi were determined to vote for Narendra Modi to build a new India