Kangana Ranaut’s “Country Don’t Have Fathers” Remark Against Gandhiji Sparks Controversy

New Delhi: Bollywood actor-turned-BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has sparked off a new controversy on Wednesday with a social media post with a demeaning statement about Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Ranaut paid homage to Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 120th birth anniversary through a post that appeared to demean Mahatma Gandhi’s stature as the Father of the Nation.

“Desh ke pita nahi, desh ke to lal hote hai. Dhanye hai Bharat ma ke ye lal (‘The country does not have fathers; it has sons. Blessed are these sons of Mother India)” Ms Ranaut wrote on her Instagram Stories.

In a follow-up post, the actor credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for carrying forward Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy on cleanliness in the country.

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate criticising Ranaut for her “lewd jibe” at Mahatma 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 wrote in a post on X.

Manoranjan Kalia, a senior BJP leader from Punjab, also criticised Ranaut for her remark against the father of the nation. In a video posted on social media, he said, “I condemn Kangana Ranaut’s comments made on Gandhi ji’s 155th birth anniversary. In her short political career, she has developed a habit of making controversial statements.”

“Politics is not her field. Politics is a serious affair. One must think before speaking… Her controversial remarks cause trouble for the party,” he added.

In September, Ranaut faced backlash for asking the farmers to demand for the return of the three farm laws repealed in 2021.

The actor-turned-MP alleged that the farmers’ agitation against the three farm laws was leading to a “Bangladesh-type situation in India”. She also claimed that “dead bodies were hanging, and rapes were taking place” at the protest sites of farmers.