Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Wednesday said legal action will be taken against Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut for her alleged defamatory statements against Mahatma Gandhi.
Patole said the Mumbai Congress will register an official complaint against her with the city police
The Congress leader’s statement came a day after Ranaut, who was recently conferred the Padma Shri award, said freedom fighters Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh got no support from Mahatma Gandhi and went on to mock his mantra of non-violence by saying that offering another cheek gets you “bheek” (alms) not freedom.
The ‘bheek’ comment was in response to the massive criticism that she has been facing for previously describing India’s Independence as “bheek” and declaring that freedom came only in 2014 when the Narendra Modi-led government came to power.
In a series of posts on Instagram, Ranaut, whose Twitter account has been suspended, this time targeted Mahatma Gandhi and urged her fans to “choose your heroes wisely”.
The “Manikarnika” actor, still in the eye of the proverbial storm for her comments, shared an old news clipping headlined “Gandhi, others had agreed to hand over Netaji”. The report claimed that Gandhi, along with Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, came to an agreement with a British judge that they would hand Bose over if he were to enter the country. “Either you are a Gandhi fan or Nataji supporter You can’t be both… Choose and decide,” Ranaut captioned the news clipping.
In another post, Ranaut, who has courted many a controversy with her provocative statements, then wrote, “Those who fought for the freedom were ‘handed over’ to their masters by those who had no courage burning/ boiling hot blood to fight their oppressors but they were power hungry and cunning.”
She then went on to target Gandhi, even claiming that there was evidence suggesting he wanted Bhagat Singh to be hanged.
“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 Aazadi. That’s not how one gets Aazadi, one can only get bheekh like that. Choose your heros wisely(sic),” the 34-year-old actor said. The actor said it’s about time people know their history and their heroes. “… Because just placing them all in one box of your memory and every year wishing them all birth anniversaries is not enough in fact it’s not just dumb but highly irresponsible and superficial…,” she added.
Ranaut’s “azaadi” statement at an event organised by a news channel last week came two days after she was presented the Padma Shri by President Ram Nath Kovind.
She has been under attack ever since with politicians from across the spectrum, historians, academics, fellow actors and others lashing out at her for views and many saying she should return her award.