Union minister Smriti Irani on Saturday rejected the Congress' allegation that her daughter Zoish Irani ran an illegal bar in Goa, and dared the opposition party to show proof of any wrong doing. Irani said Zoish is being targeted because her mother's vocal stand against Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party leader Rahul Gandhi over their alleged role in the National Herald case.
"My daughter's fault is that her mother holds a press conference on the loot of Rs 5,000 crore by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. Her fault is that her mother fought against Rahul Gandhi in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls," the MP said.
Irani said her 18-year-old daughter is a college student and does not run any bar. She also accused the Congress of "assassinating" and "publicly mutilating" her daughter's character.
"I will seek answers in the court of law and the court of people," said the minister.
Earlier, Zoish's lawyer Kirat Nagra denied the charges against her client, saying Smriti Irani's political opponents have levelled various "concocted" allegations against her with a predetermined objective of defaming her for solely being the daughter of a political leader.
Her statement followed reports in a section of media, quoting which the Congress alleged that Irani's daughter was running an "illegal bar" in Goa and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack the Union minister.
Noting that it is a "very serious issue", the Congress also shared a copy of the show cause notice given to the bar, and said the excise official who gave the notice is reportedly being transferred after pressure from authorities.
Zoish's lawyer, however, said she has not received any show cause notice from any authority.
With PTI inputs