Smriti Irani's daughter running 'illegal' bar in Goa: Congress

The Congress on Saturday demanded that Smriti Irani be sacked from the Union Cabinet, claiming that her daughter was running an "illegal bar" in Goa, a charge vehemently rejected by the BJP leader.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said there are serious charges of corruption against Irani's family and her daughter is allegedly running a restaurant in Goa, in which a bar is also functioning on a "fake licence".

"We demand from the prime minister that Smriti Irani should be immediately sacked as a minister from the Union Cabinet," he said.

Irani said her daughter is being targeted because of her vocal stand on the Sonia and Rahul Gandhi's "Rs 5,000-crore loot" in the National Herald case. The Congress "assassinated" my daughter's character, said Irani, who heads the Women and Child Development Ministry

The restaurant at the centre of the political storm, 'Silly Souls', is located in the upmarket Assagao village in north Goa.

Goa Congress president Amit Patkar claimed that the liquor licence was renewed in the name of Mumbai-based resident Anthony D'Gama in June 2022, despite the person having passed away in May last year.

"The person who applied for the liquor licence renewal died on May 15, 2021. There is a valid death certificate to prove it. On June 22, 2022, his ghost comes and signs the documents for renewal of the licence. She should come clear on this. It is a big fraud," Patkar alleged.

After the information was dug out by a local RTI activist earlier this week, the state excise commissioner Narayan Gad had also issued a show cause notice to the restaurant over the liquor licence renewal issue.

In the national capital, Khera said according to Goa rules, a restaurant can get only one bar licence but this restaurant has got two bar licences.

The lawyer of Irani's daughter, Kirat Nagra, said his client is neither an owner nor operating the restaurant and also has not received any show cause notice from any authority. Irani, too, said her daughter doesn't own any restaurant.

Later, Khera tagged a media report about a review of a Goa restaurant and tweeted, "Which Smriti Zubin Irani is lying? The one who on 14th April 2022 said she was proud of her daughter’s restaurant or the one who today says her daughter has nothing to do with the Silly Souls Bar & Cafe?"

Irani said she would meet her accusers "in the court of law and the court of people".