Kangana Ranaut’s comments on “real freedom” have stirred up quite the drama and did not sit well with several politicians who questioned the actress on her controversial remarks. BJP MP Varun Gandhi, taking a jibe at Kangana, asked her to clarify if her thinking was “madness or treason”.
At the same time, former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Kumar Manjhi requested President Ram Nath Kovind to take back the coveted Padma Shri award conferred on Kangana over her controversial remark.
For the unversed, Kangana, in an interview with a TV channel, had reportedly said, “Freedom got through begging, is not real freedom. We achieved real freedom in 2014.” Kangana’s remarks were referring to the Narendra Modi and Amit Shah-powered BJP coming to power in 2014.
Reacting sharply to her statement, BJP leader Varun Gandhi said, “Once she insulted the sacrifices of Mahatma Gandhi and applauded his murderer. Now, she insulted the sacrifices of Mangal Pandey, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Rani Laxmi Bai, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and lakhs of freedom fighters who had struggled for freedom. What would I say to a person of such a mindset mad or treason?”
Meanwhile, former Bihar CM Manjhi tweeted, “The President should take back Kangana Ranaut’s Padma Shri award or the entire world would be given to understand that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sardar Patel, Syama Prasad Mukherjee, and others had begged for freedom which was given by the British. Shame on Kangana.”
Notably, Kangana was presented with the Padma Shri two weeks after she picked up her fourth best actress National Film Award. In a video message, Kangana had also expressed her gratitude for receiving the honour “for being a model citizen” of India.
