Union minister Smriti Irani was recently drawn into a controversy regarding a North Goa restaurant and bar, the ‘Silly Souls Cafe and Bar’, run by her daughter, Zoish Irani.Addressing a press conference on Saturday, July 23, Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh levelled numerous allegations against Irani’s 18-year-old daughter regarding irregularities with respect to the eatery’s registration and licence.The Congress leaders alleged several irregularities related to licenses, such as the claim that the restaurant’s liquor licence had been renewed despite the license holder having passed away 13 months ago; that the restaurant has been registered multiple times over and that, without a valid licence, the restaurant has been operating illegally.Following the allegations, a war of words has kicked off between Irani and the Congress leaders and citizens have been calling for Irani’s resignation, even from her home constituency of Amethi, where posters demanding the same have also been put up.On July 24, Irani hit back, denying the allegations that her daughter even ran a restaurant, and with her lawyers sending a legal notice to Khera and Ramesh seeking an unconditional apology, threatening civil and criminal proceedings if they fail to do so.The Wire’s Sumedha Pal catches viewers up to the status of the conflict in the video below.
