New Delhi: Kangana Ranaut, the BJP MP, who often triggers controversies with her remarks on farmers and getting reprimanded by her party, on Wednesday kicked up another storm with a social media post over Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Badahur Shastri that downplayed the former.
The BJP MP from Mandi, who previously faced widespread criticism over her comments on the farmers’ protest, paid homage to former prime minister Shastri on his 120th birth anniversary in the post that was apparently a dig at Gandhi being revered as the Father of the Nation.
“Desh ke pita nahi, desh ke to lal hote hai. Dhanye hai Bharat ma ke ye lal (a country does not have fathers; it has sons. Blessed are these sons of Mother India)” Ranaut wrote on her Instagram Stories.
In a follow-up post, the actor praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for upholding Gandhi’s legacy of promoting cleanliness across the nation.
The post about Shastri and Gandhi has sparked yet another controversy for the BJP MP from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, as Congress leader Supriya Shrinate criticized Ranaut for her “disrespectful remark” towards Gandhi.
“BJP MP Kangana made this lewd jibe on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. Godse worshippers draw distinctions between Bapu and Shastri ji. Will Narendra Modi wholeheartedly forgive his party’s new Godse devotee? There is the Father of the Nation, there are sons, and there are martyrs. Everyone deserves respect,” Shrinate said in a post on X while sharing a screenshot of Kangana’s post.
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
In March, Shrinate herself was involved in controversy before the Lok Sabha elections over an objectionable post concerning the actor.
Manoranjan Kalia, a senior BJP leader from Punjab, also criticized Ranaut for her recent remarks. “I condemn Kangana Ranaut’s comments made on the 155th birth anniversary of Gandhi ji. In her brief political career, she has developed a habit of making controversial statements,” Kalia said in a video shared on social media.
“Politics is not her domain. It is a serious matter, and one must think before speaking. Her controversial remarks create problems for the party,” he added.
Kangana’s past controversies
Just last month, Ranaut faced criticism for supporting the reinstatement of the three farm laws that were repealed in 2021.
The actor, who was elected as an MP in June, had claimed that the farmers’ protests against the farm laws were creating a “Bangladesh-type situation in India,” alleging that “dead bodies were hanging, and rapes were occurring” at the protest sites. Ranaut later retracted her statement, saying that she must remember she is not only an artist but also a BJP leader.
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