Major loss of face for the Gandhis and the Congress and a huge win for Smriti Irani and the BJP.


A revenue court today ordered the return of the land sold to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust by an industrial house to Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC).


The order passed by sub-divisional magistrate, Gauriganj, Vandita Srivastava comes days after Union Minister Smriti Irani questioned the sale of the land to the Trust and had accused the Gandhi family of "land-grabbing' .


The land of Kauhar village already belonged to UPSIDC which was illegally transferred in the name of the Trust, Srivastava said. Asked about the order, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said the Trust "has explained itself very very clearly'.


"It runs a self-help group system that is the largest in Uttar Pradesh. They have created SHGs for over 1.4 million women. They have transformed lives of millions and millions of women there. So Mrs Irani should go into the details of what work they have done and exactly what they are doing before she says anything,' he told reporters in Jammu.