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Smriti Irani Engages In War Of Words On Twitter With Journalist

Smriti Irani Engages In War Of Words On Twitter With Journalist
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NEW DELHI, INDIA - FEBRUARY 28: HRD Minister Smriti Irani talks with media during the Budget session at the Parliament House on February 28, 2015 in New Delhi, India. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley promised higher investment in India's decrepit roads and railways, offered the carrot of corporate tax cuts to global corporations and the stick of tighter compliance rules to get Indian tycoons to invest at home rather than stash wealth abroad. He forecast inflation at 5% by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2016, undershooting the Reserve Bank of India's 6% target and creating room to cut interest rates. Annual inflation was 5.1% in January. He proposed to abolish the wealth tax and proposed two percent surcharge on the super rich. He said the government is proposing to rationalise various tax exemptions and incentives to reduce tax disputes and improve tax administration. (Photo by Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
NEW DELHI, INDIA - FEBRUARY 28: HRD Minister Smriti Irani talks with media during the Budget session at the Parliament House on February 28, 2015 in New Delhi, India. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley promised higher investment in India's decrepit roads and railways, offered the carrot of corporate tax cuts to global corporations and the stick of tighter compliance rules to get Indian tycoons to invest at home rather than stash wealth abroad. He forecast inflation at 5% by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2016, undershooting the Reserve Bank of India's 6% target and creating room to cut interest rates. Annual inflation was 5.1% in January. He proposed to abolish the wealth tax and proposed two percent surcharge on the super rich. He said the government is proposing to rationalise various tax exemptions and incentives to reduce tax disputes and improve tax administration. (Photo by Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

NEW DELHI -- Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Smriti Irani today engaged in a twitter war with a financial daily journalist whose news report claimed that the minister had recommended over 5,000 admissions in Kendriya Vidyalaya schools in the current academic year.

In a post on twitter, the HRD minister gave vent to her anger over the report, saying "I recognise ur source-based agenda and have made public my contempt for it."

The reporter had claimed that Irani had recommended over 5,000 requests for admission to the Central government-run Kendriya Vidyalaya chain of schools, a more than four-fold jump from quota levels of her predecessors.

@anubhutivishn All admissions r recorded as per requests frm MPs across parties+Bpl families. Ur source based lie as usual ignores facts.

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) November 23, 2015

In another tweet, the minister said, "All admissions are recorded as per requests from MPs across parties plus Bpl (below poverty line) families. Your source based lie as usual ignores facts," she said referring to the report.

@smritiirani I am sure they are all based on requests Ma'am. We have only reported surge in number.that why ministry version in time helps.

— Anubhuti Vishnoi (@anubhutivishnoi) November 23, 2015

The reporter responded to Irani saying that with utmost respect to her as a minister, she had been requesting for the ministry's view and version since Friday, but none had come.

Irani was quick to post her rejoinder. "2 line humari aur baaki ka version aapka. And by the way respect aap na bhi kare to koi farak nai padta." (Two lines by us and the rest of version, all yours. And by the way, even if you don't respect, it does not make a difference.)

The twitter war drew instant responses one being,"While in a spot, shoot the messenger...not the first time". The minister responded, saying, "Not in a spot Sir. As Chairperson of the board, I followed procedure."

Irani alleged that this was not the first time the reporter had "followed an agenda".

There was another comment, from another journalist saying, "what level has this government stooped to. Such a comment coming from a minister".

The minister shot back, "Sir it seems I have lost my right n freedom to express myself. Should my freedom of speech be subject to ur prior approval?"

The comments by both the minister and others found themselves widely circulating on the social networking site as there were scores of retweets and likes.

Another journalist quipped if anybody does a story even mildly critical of the minister, it is "agenda" driven reporting!

Irani retorted, "criticise all u want, don't lie.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.