Kangana Ranaut, a Bharatiya Janata Party MP and popular film actress, adopted a conciliatory stance after being reprimanded by the saffron party for her controversial comments on the farmers’ protests.
I have been reprimanded by the party leadership but that’s fine. I don’t think I am the last voice of the party. I am not crazy or stupid enough to believe that,” Ranaut said in an interview to India Today.
She acknowledged that there is still a “long way to go” and expressed regret if her comments have inadvertently hurt the party’s cause or policies.
“If I have really hurt the party’s cause, its stand and policies, it can’t hurt anyone more than me,” she added.
What Kangana Ranaut said about the farmers’ protests
Ranaut’s comments that a “Bangladesh-like situation” could have erupted during the farmers’ protests had it not been for strong Indian leadership caused a stir. She claimed that “bodies were hung and rapes happened” during the riots and insinuated that foreign powers like China and the US were involved in the movement.
The BJP condemned Kangana Ranaut’s derogatory remarks and made it clear that she was neither permitted nor authorised to comment on party policy issues.
“The statements made by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kangana Ranaut in relation to the farmers’ agitation do not reflect the party’s views. “The Bharatiya Janata Party does not agree with Kangana Ranaut’s statements,” the BJP said in a statement.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party has instructed Kangana Ranaut not to make such statements in future,” it added.
The BJP’s public rebuke comes as assembly elections approach in Haryana state, which has been hit hard by farmer protests.
Ranaut expressed her intention to be more careful with her words and align herself more closely with party politics. “I am willing to be more careful with my words and align myself more closely with party politics.” Because for the Bharatiya Janata Party, she said, “Hum rahe ya na rahe, Bharat lehna chahiye (India should stay whether we are there or not).”