The Union Minister of Textiles- Smriti Irani- is doing more for Amethi than the MP of the constituency, Rahul Gandhi. In a recent heartwarming gesture for the people of Amethi, Smriti Irani, who lost from the constituency in 2014, arranged a ‘mobile digital theatre’ which has been screening the movie ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’ for the public of the Gandhi borough free of cost since Republic Day. Amethi does not have a movie theater.
According to an Indian Express report, the first screening of the Uri, the film, was held on Republic Day with a video conference with Smriti Irani. In her message to the public, Irani had said, “Didi (referring to herself) ka to kaam hai sewa karna…Naujawan prerit hon bhartiya sena ke shaurya ko dekh kar, yogdaan ko dekh kar, maa bharti ke sapoot kaise ghar baar tyaag kar, apne praano ki aahuti dete hain, yeh iss film mein dikhaaya jata hai (It is didi’s job to do service…The youth are encouraged to see the courage and contribution of the Army as the movie shows how sons of the soil sacrifice everything)…”There is also her photograph on the official poster. Currently, the screenings are held four times a day- 9.20 am, 1.30 pm, 5 pm and 8 pm- at a spice factory.
The Indian Express has quoted Vishuv Mishra, general secretary of the BJP’s youth wing saying, “There is no working movie theater in Amethi and there was a demand from the public to view this movie. So Smriti Irani arranged for the screenings and personally addressed the audience through video-conferencing on Republic Day.” He has been endowed with the responsibility of coordinating the screening. Vishuv Mishra also added that the mobile theatre can accommodate 150 people at a time. The college students of Ramganj area also attended the screenings. So far, the number of people who have attended the screening stands at around 2,000 people with an average of around 600 people a day.
The Indian Express quoted Mishra further saying, “Our message is especially to the youth, to tell them about the sacrifices of the country’s soldiers during the surgical strike, which is being propagated as a lie by Congress people. We are sure that the youth of Amethi will do a surgical strike on Congress president Rahul Gandhi by defeating him or any member of his family for the lies that they spread.”
According to Indian Express, the BJP spokesperson Govind Singh said, “Congress has done nothing for Amethi, that is why they are troubled each time some work is done for the people. There was a demand and Smriti Irani took the initiative to bring the movie to the doorsteps of people.”
A noteworthy fact here is that in 2014, Rahul Gandhi registered a win in Amethi at a time when the entire nation had discarded the Congress. But, Rahul Gandhi has remained ungrateful and has done absolutely nothing for the people of Amethi, which still remains one of the most backward constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. In the last four and half years, Smriti Irani has helped the people of Amethi and has struck a chord with its people, something that Rahul Gandhi has failed to do in the last 15 years. Given Rahul Gandhi’s irresponsible and condemnable conduct since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the manner in which Smriti Irani is working for the constituency, despite having lost the previous elections, it is very likely that the people of Amethi may prefer Smriti Irani over the Congress President in the election to come.