Union minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday said that the people of her Lok Sabha constituency Amethi were harassed for 50 years when the Congress was in power.

Irani was speaking at the Times Now Navbharat Navnirman Manch conclave in Lucknow, via video conference, while responding to Opposition allegations that the BJP made more promises and delivered less work. She said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated rural roads of around 15 km this morning in the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency.

She added that in the last two years, investment worth crores has been made on roads in Amethi in the last two years.

The minister, in turn, asked the Opposition parties why did they not serve the country while they were in power.

Asked why more than 29 per cent of population is below the poverty line in Uttar Pradesh even when the national average is 21-22 per cent, Irani said that UP is also the most populated state in the country.

She added that the Yogi government has made provision of basic needs such as toilets for women in rural areas. She stated that while 10 crore toilets were planned to be built in the country, 2 crore families in UP have received new toilets.

Irani further dismissed allegations by SP leader and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav that while the Yogi government has made toilets but those are running without water. Irani maintained that the toilets are fully functional but Yadav wants to play toilet politics.

Asked why the UP CM has to rely on politics of polarisation if there is development in UP and uses references like ‘Abba Jaan’ for AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Irani said Adityanath has all the right to speak in parliamentary language so long as the amenities provided by the government are made for equal use by all communities alike.