Irani asks: Is he a youth leader? He is close to 50 years!

Stopping short of naming him, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday attacked Rahul Gandhi saying he goes around claiming to be a youth leader while being close to 50 years of age.

"There is a leader who still claims to be a youth leader but he is close to 50 years of age," Irani said.

She also charged that the Congress vice president has been a MP for 10 years "due to his mother's blessings" but did no development for his constituency Amethi.

Speaking at a convention of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, BJP's youth wing, Irani said she never said like Gandhi that nationalism runs in her blood but let her work speak for it.

Taking on the opposition, she alleged some people glorified those working to break country but shed no tears when a Dalit girl working for farmers in Singur was raped and killed by Left workers and when a BJP leader in Kerala was hacked to death in a class room in Kerala in 1999.

BJP's struggle would continue till workers like them get justice, she said.

The HRD minister claimed the UPA government had in 2012 scrapped a UGC scheme under which defence personnel were allowed to earn a degree while working.

She said she restored the scheme after defence officials brought it to her notice and added that over 45,000 Air Force personnel and 3.73 lakh army personnel had benefitted from it.

"While discharging my duty, I never made a claim from any dais that the proof of nationalism is that it runs in my veins. I did my duty with dedication and gave the proof to our defence forces that Congress may not be with you but whenever BJP workers get a chance, they will fight with you," she said.

Irani said it was the country's "misfortune" that leaders of some political parties stood with those who supported Afzal Guru, Maqbool Bhat and Yakub Memon, all convicts in different terror cases and hanged for their roles.

"Enemy is spreading a lot of disinformation but we have to take it on with patience... You should give your boiling blood the strength of patience," she said to cheers from BJYM workers on a day when a host of top party leaders, including party chief Amit Shah and union ministers, attacked Congress over the issue.

BJYM president Anurag Thakur earlier accused Congress of using terrorists like Ishrat Jahan to trouble Narendra Modi.

"Congress has aligned with terrorism-supporting Pakistan to get rid of Modi," he alleged referring to reported controversial statements of Congress leaders in Pakistan some time back.

Union ministers Kalraj Mishra, Narendra Tomar, Prakash Javadekar and Piyush Goyal also spoke on the occasion.

They highlighted the developmental works of Modi government.