Smriti Irani to build her own house in Amethi's Gauriganj, says it will make her more accessible to local residents

A month after her victory in the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister for Women and Child Development and BJP MP Smriti Irani announced that she will build her own house in the constituency. She said she has identified a plot in Gauriganj for her house, according to News18. [caption id=“attachment_4411551” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Union minister Smriti Irani. PTI[/caption] Irani emerged victorious in the traditional Congress bastion and visited the constituency on Saturday for the first time since the results of the Lok Sabha election were declared on 23 May. She assured the people that having a home in the parliamentary constituency will make her more accessible to them. Rahul had won from Amethi in 2004, 2009 and 2014, and Sonia Gandhi had won from the seat in 1999. The Gandhi family, however, stayed at guest houses during their visits to Amethi the last two decades. Irani sharply criticised her rivals, saying, “No one had imagined that a woman from a simple family will be given the opportunity to be your representative in a region that was the stronghold of a ‘naamdaar’, where it was believed that even if the MP doesn’t return for five years, people will still accept him.” In the elections held in April-May this year, Irani defeated Rahul in his home turf by a margin of over 55,000 votes. The Union minister announced that she was going to build a home in Amethi at the inauguration of a Rs 30-crore roadways project, where Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya was also present. At the programme, she distributed the keys of houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) among local residents. While announcing developmental and welfare projects in Amethi, Irani assured those who voted for Congress chief Rahul Gandhi that they will not be deprived of the benefits of various schemes. :I understand that there are some four lakh people who voted for the Congress. They must not worry about benefiting from welfare schemes like Ujjwala, PMAY and toilets built under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,"  The Times of India quoted her as saying.