Bollywood actress and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut was summoned by an Agra court on Tuesday to address allegations regarding her comments on the farmers’ protests. The court has scheduled another hearing for November 28, following a petition filed by Rama Shankar Sharma, the president of the Agra Bar Association, on September 11.
In August this year, Ranaut stirred controversy by claiming that rapes and murders had occurred during the farmers’ protests, suggesting that if the government had not been strong, conditions in India could have mirrored those in Bangladesh. The petition accuses Ranaut of making derogatory remarks against the protesting farmers, calling for her to be charged with sedition.
Sharma, who comes from a farming background, expressed his dismay, stating that Ranaut’s comments had deeply hurt the sentiments of millions of farmers. He also highlighted the respect he holds for Mahatma Gandhi and other national heroes, condemning Ranaut’s assertion that the freedom gained in 1947, which she claimed was a result of Gandhi’s “begging,” was not real freedom. According to Sharma, true freedom was only achieved when Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.
Ranaut’s comments have been a subject of controversy in the past. She has previously compared protestors to Khalistani terrorists and insinuated that women joined the protests for financial gain, which sparked significant backlash and legal challenges.
