New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kangana Ranaut is under fire from her own party leaders for a social media post Wednesday that saw her accused of downplaying the stature of Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of the Nation.
On 2 October, the birth anniversary of Gandhi as well as that of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Ranaut wrote on her Instagram Stories: “Desh ke pita nahi, desh ke to laal hote hai. Dhanye hai Bharat maa ke ye laal (the country does not have fathers; it has sons. Blessed are these sons of Mother India). This was accompanied by a picture of Shastri.
Ranaut’s words quickly drew strong reactions, including from Punjab BJP leaders, one of whom alleged that she was propagating the ideology of Gandhi’s assassin, Nathuram Godse, and said that the people of Mandi, her constituency in Himachal Pradesh, had erred in electing her.
Speaking to ThePrint Thursday, Harjeet Singh Grewal, a senior BJP leader from Punjab, said: “Kangana is articulating the ideology of Nathuram Godse and it looks like the people of Mandi constituency have made a mistake in electing her. She has not paid her respects to Gandhi but she is paying homage to Shastri. She should know that Shastri was the biggest follower of the Mahatma’s ideology. If she is worshipping his (Gandhi’s) pupil but humiliating the guru, this shows her ideology and intelligence.”
“The entire country values Gandhi for his contribution to the Indian freedom struggle but she is not respectful to him. She should avoid speaking on every subject. I pray to God to give her some intelligence,” he added.
Actor-politician Ranaut had been the subject of criticism in August as well when she alleged in an interview that during the farmers’ agitation of 2020-2021, “bodies were hanging and rapes were taking place”. She has also faced backlash for her demand to bring back the farm laws that the BJP-led central government had repealed in 2021 following the farmers’ agitation.
Other Punjab BJP leaders also slammed Kangana for her post on Gandhi Jayanti as well as on other issues.
Former state minister Manoranjan Kalia said: “I condemn Kangana Ranaut’s statement made on Gandhi Jayanti. In her short political career, she has become habitual to making reckless comments. Politics is not her field; politics is a serious affair. She should concentrate on acting. Her statements embarrass the party and she should think before speaking.”
Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu took a dig at Ranaut, telling the media that “Bapu (Gandhi) said that if you hear a bad thing, close your ears”.
BJP Punjab general secretary Anil Sodhi asked why the MP was making comments on every subject, from the farm laws to Gandhi. “She should speak about her constituency. She is not a spokesperson of the party to speak on every issue. Despite warnings, she is making statements; this is condemnable,” he told ThePrint.
The opposition Congress has also attacked Ranaut for her post. On X, party leader Supriya Shrinate asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would forgive the MP.
BJP MP कंगना ने महात्मा गांधी की जयंती के दिन यह भद्दा तंज कसा
बापू और शास्त्री जी के बीच में भेदभाव गोडसे उपासक करते हैं
क्या नरेंद्र मोदी अपनी पार्टी की नई गोडसे भक्त को दिल से माफ़ करेंगे?
देश के राष्ट्रपिता होते हैं, लाल होते हैं और शहीदे आज़म होते हैं. सबका सम्मान है pic.twitter.com/7m1E42nFJU
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) October 2, 2024
Ranaut has put out controversial posts previously, too.
In one such post on Instagram, she had said that Gandhi had not supported the freedom fighters (Netaji) Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh, and insinuated that India’s Independence was given as bheekh or alms. She also said “the conscience of India was set free in 2014”, the year Modi became PM.
Another of her Instagram posts advised people to “choose your heroes wisely, whether you are a Gandhi fan or Netaji supporter. You can’t be both.”
“Those are the ones who taught us, ‘if someone slaps you offer another cheek for one more slap’ and that is how you will get azadi. That’s not how one gets azadi, one can only get bheekh like that,” she wrote in a series of posts in 2021.
In May 2019, BJP leader Pragya Singh Thakur had kicked up a row by terming Godse a patriot. She later apologised for her remarks.
‘Not the BJP’s stand’
This is not the first time that Kangana has put the BJP in a spot, even forcing the party to distance itself from her comments.
Kangana having made several statements which were not liked by the party, BJP president J.P. Nadda was reported to have asked her to maintain decorum while speaking.
Just last month, the Bollywood actress, while speaking at an event in Mandi, said that farmers were a “pillar of strength” for the country. “Only in some states, they object to farm laws. I appeal with folded hands that farm laws should be brought back in the interest of farmers,” she added.
The BJP was quick to distance itself from her statement, especially as it was made while Haryana is gearing up to vote for the assembly polls.
The Haryana Congress alleged that the central government was attempting to bring back the repealed laws, and assured people that the party would not let it happen “no matter how hard Narendra Modi tried”.
Kangana subsequently stated on X that “my views on farm laws are personal and they don’t represent the party’s stand”.
The BJP had in August also distanced itself from her remarks on the 2020-21 farmers’ agitation, stating that it was not in agreement with her views and that “Ranaut has been directed not to make such statements in the future”.
Soon after her remarks on the farmers’ protests, Kangana had in a TV interview rejected the demand for a caste census, putting the BJP on a sticky wicket at a time when the opposition is turning the heat on the issue. The party has so far kept its stand unclear on the caste census.
When asked by the interviewer if a caste census should be held, she said “not at all”.
The BJP again had to respond quickly. “The home minister has said that if a need arises, we will do a caste-based census. So Kangana’s assertion does not reflect the party’s stand,” said the party’s national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan.
In Mandi Wednesday, Kangana indirectly alluded to Punjab, alleging that drugs were being transported from the state to Himachal Pradesh and creating disturbance.
“…new things are coming to our state from the surrounding areas. Some chitta (slang for drugs), some something… some something. They have completely ruined our youth. But we have not learned anything from them. Be it calmness or aggression… you know which state I am talking about… their nature is very aggressive. They come on bikes, take drugs and make a lot of noise… create a lot of chaos and don’t know who drinks which liquor,” she said at a public programme.
Grewal, speaking about her drug charge, told ThePrint: “How come she is branding one state as creating hooliganism in Himachal? She is humiliating Punjab’s youth who are struggling in farms to make a living. She should speak about Himachal not Punjab repeatedly.”
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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