(Image source from: Smriti Irani tells girls not to succumb to pressure})
Smriti Irani, Union Human Resource Development minister, said, “I will die on my feet rather than live on my knees". She was most recently caught in the eye of a storm on the death of a Dalit student in the Central University of Hyderabad.
At a meeting in Aligarh for a function at Tikaram Kanya Mahavidyalaya, the minister told the girls not to succumb to pressure. "Chunauti aye lekin ghutne nahi tekna, (there will be challenges but do not succumb to pressure)”, she said.
Minister spent time with the young girls saying that, "In time to come there will be a woman from Aligarh holding the post that I am currently in." Smriti chose to remain silent when she was accused by Aam Admi Party of "misleading" the nation over the alleged suicide of the Dalit research scholar. Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM, said that her name should be added as an accused to the FIR.
Aligarh MP of BJP Satish Gautam took media question during her brief stay in the city, saying that, "On the issue of a Dalit scholar's suicide I would like to ask why people who are showing themselves as supporters of Dalit don't question AMU for not having SC/ST and OBC reservations? In Hyderabad, Congress VP Rahul Gandhi goes to show his solidarity for Dalit's cause and in Amethi he has land of Muslims and SCs, which was acquired under Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust. Why do you have two faces?”
-Sumana
