Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani on Saturday took a jibe at the meeting of opposition parties held in Patna, saying wolves hunt in packs but they do not know that they cannot hunt a lion.
She also alleged that the target of Friday's opposition conclave was not Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "but the people of the country and the exchequer".
"As soon as I came to Indore, the media asked me what my reaction was to the Opposition's gathering in Patna yesterday," Irani said addressing a public gathering organised here to mark the completion of the Modi government's nine years in power.
“There is a saying in English that wolves hunt in packs but they do not know that they can't hunt a lion," Irani said.
She also spoke at an event organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party to mark the completion of nine years of the Modi government.
Prominent women from Indore were invited to this programme.
"There has been a gathering (of Opposition parties), but its target was not Modi, but you (the public) and India's treasury," Irani claimed.
"I know that when a person casts an evil eye on treasury....just alert the woman of the house and the enemy automatically fails," the Women and Child Development minister added.
She claimed deep differences existed among the Opposition parties.
"Those who can't handle even their own homes, how will they handle Hindustan?" she asked.
Taking a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for touching the feet of (RJD chief) Lalu Prasad Yadav in Patna, Irani said, "Those of us who are in Parliament know that Banerjee had declared Yadav a corrupt leader”.
She also targeted former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.
"There was a great camaraderie between these parties in Patna. Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. Today, I humbly want to ask the Gandhi family whether they are with India or Article 370?” Irani asked.
Referring to the under-construction Ram temple in Ayodhya, Irani asked the Opposition parties whether they are with Lord Ram or with those who have submitted affidavits questioning the existence of Lord Ram in the court.
Talking to reporters after the general meeting, Irani said, "The fractured opposition gathered in Patna indicated that Opposition parties are trying to unite for personal interests."
She said the Aam Aadmi Party's stand in the opposition meeting has come to the fore and the opposition innings in this meeting started with "political blackmailing".
Referring to Lalu Prasad Yadav's advice to Rahul Gandhi to get married soon, Irani said, "Lalu Prasad Yadav has ridiculed the heir of the Gandhi family in the opposition meeting. This shows that the opposition does not have concrete national, political and economic issues.”
Irani also participated in another BJP programme and released a report titled "Nari Sashaktikaran Se Rashtra Utthan (Women Empowerment to Nation Upliftment)", which is based on data on women's development during the last nine years.
At the Patna meeting, a total of 17 opposition parties resolved to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unitedly to defeat the saffron party and work with flexibility by setting aside their differences.
Irani also said India's credibility in the world has increased due to the US visit of the prime minister and cited announcements made by various foreign companies to invest in India.
