Speaking on Day 2 of TV9 Network’s What India Thinks Today 2026, Irani said her life as a politician and media professional was focused on issues. “It’s not like I didn’t get an offer after becoming Miss India finalist. I could have become a ramp walk model, danced in movies but I didn’t choose that path. Even when I played a character in a TV serial, I got attention not because of my bindi aur suit, but for the issues.”
‘Spent 25 yrs to ensure women can live the way they want’
Reflecting upon the path she chose to lead her life, the three-term MP said that she never wanted to draw attention for her sexuality or for her physical appearance. She further said that she spent more than two decades in politics, ensuring that women are not known merely for their looks, outfits or the way they talk.
“We can climb the stairs of success only after struggles. Our lives will be interesting if we learn how to strike a balance between success and struggles…I have spent 25 years in politics to ensure women are not known for their outfits or the way they talk. I spent 2.5 decades of my life ensuring that women can live the way they want, speak the way they want, and get respect and freedom. If I take a U-turn and adjust my tone just to please someone, then somewhere it will be a dichotomy that I cannot live with,” she said.
Never wanted to become ‘Abla Naari’
Asked why she was inspired to become Vijay Deenanath Chauhan, a Bollywood character from the film Agneepath, Irani said, “As a woman, I never wanted to become a centre of attraction because of my physical appearance; I was fine with being known for my intellect. I have seen in my entire life that there was an entire generation of women who would barely wear make-up or apply very pale lip colour purposely just to ensure that they continue working.”
Stressing that she never wanted people to see her as a “weak or attractive” woman, Irani said it was her conscious choice.
“I decided if I want to debate with a man on any serious issue, how he should imagine my personality – I don’t want a man to see me as ‘abla naari’, attractive. It was my conscious choice. It is very easy to change or mould yourself for others, to give an extra smile. I didn’t choose this way of living my life,” she added.
She further said that she was subjected to a lathi-charge and even went to jail to defend the ideology of her party. “I voluntarily chose this path and faced struggles. I’m not apologising for standing up to defend my country,” she added.
Rahul Gandhi himself responsible for his public image
Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that BJP has spent crores to spoil his image, she said we should not underestimate the citizens of the country.
“You think you can betray the public and they cannot differentiate between substance and fact. Blaming the BJP for the image of a political leader is not practical. The people of the country have evaluated him based on the way he has presented himself in public. So, to say that the public can be easily deceived is an insult to the public,” she added.
Irani confident about BJP’s win in state polls
Asked if the BJP is confident about its victory in the upcoming Assembly elections in five states, Irani said
the results of the recently-held Rajya Sabha elections clearly indicate what will be the outcome of the state polls and the how the Opposition will perform.
“BJP has made the impossible possible with its nationalist ideology. If you are from the BJP, nothing is difficult,” she added.
The senior BJP leader also slammed the Opposition for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the President. “What happened with the President was not an attack on a person but on an institution, and this is our political, national and societal responsibility to safeguard the institution,” she added.
‘It is Parliament, not their house’
Shrugging off Opposition and Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that they were not allowed to speak in Parliament and their mic was switched off, the senior BJP leader said the MPs should follow certain rules while speaking in the House and maintain decorum.
“We are supposed to speak as per the rules. If you want to break the rules and say you are not allowing me to speak. The Speaker has to run the Lok Sabha in accordance with protocol. You are allowed to speak but you can’t blame someone else if you can’t speak. It is Parliament, not their house,” she said.
“We have to present ourselves as per a set rule; this would set a precedent for constitutional and parliamentary procedure. We are today, we would not be there tomorrow, but the arrangement we left behind will continue for years,” she added.
Irani slams Congress over AI summit row
Hitting out at the Congress over the recent shirtless protest during the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi, she said the incident was not an attack on the BJP or Prime Minister Narendra Modi but on India. “What happened at the AI summit was not a protest against Narendra Modi. It was not a BJP summit it was India’s AI Summit. Indian companies had participated in that summit, Indian citizens had come there. So I would not consider it an attack on the BJP but on the country,” she said.