NEW DELHI: Actor Kangana Ranaut, who is the BJP candidate from Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh, on Wednesday responded to controversial comments made from Congress leader Supriya Srinate’s social media handle and said that alignment of Congress is such “that they disrespect women”.
Supriya Srinate, who is chairperson Social Media and Digital Platforms of Congress, later said that the derogatory remarks had not been made by her.
Speaking at the Times Now Summit on Wednesday, Kangana referred to the post and said she felt hurt that Mandi, a district in Himachal Pradesh, is being associated with such words. She also said that people of Himachal have been hurt.
“I felt very sad. We have been working for women empowerment. It has been a fight for me to bring about a certain sense of dignity, respect and equality for women. Such comments take us back from such issues. This is like the mentality that ‘she is asking for it’. This was very alarming content and I was more hurt that Mandi is being associated with such words. I would like to tell you that Mandi was named after a rishi called Mandav Rishi,” Kangana said.
“Ye jo Mandi hai na, Congress ke logo ke dimag mein chalti rahti hai na, ye voo wali Mandi nahi hai (The mandi that goes on in the minds of Congress people, this is not that mandi). This is Rishi Mandav’s Mandi,” she added.
As the controversy raged about comments from her social media handle, Shrinate on Monday clarified that she could never make such personal and indecent comments about any woman.
“Many people have access to my Facebook and Instagram accounts. Someone from them made an extremely inappropriate post today. As soon as I came to know, I deleted that post. Everyone who knows me also knows very well that I can never make personal and indecent comments towards any woman. I wanted to know how this happened,” she said.
Referring to the post from Shrinate’s handle, Kangana had earlier said every woman deserves dignity.
“Dear Supriya ji, in the last 20 years of my career as an artist, I have played all kinds of women. From a naive girl in Queen to a seductive spy in Dhaakad, from a goddess in Manikarnika to a demon in Chandramukhi, from a prostitute in Rajjo to a revolutionary leader in Thalaivii,” Ranaut had said in a post on X.
BJP leaders had strongly condemned Shrinate over the remarks and demanded action from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Kangana made her acting debut in 2006 with film ‘Gangster: A Love Story’, co-starring Emraan Hashmi. Since then she delivered some path-breaking performances and received various accolades for her acting in films like ‘Fashion’, ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai’, ‘Tanu Weds Manu’, among others.
Kangana garnered critical acclaim for her film ‘Queen’, for which she also co-wrote the dialogues. (ANI)