Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 17: Criticism have poured in from various quarters a day after Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut mocked Mahatma Gandhi and asked people to choose between Gandhiji and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose as their ideal.
Though known to be a BJP sympathizer and an ardent supporter of prime minister Narendra Modi, though she is not a member of any political party, Ranaut has received flaks from the BJP for her comments on the father of the nation whom she said was only seeking “bheekh” (alms) from the Britishers and did not “earn the freedom.” The real freedom in India “came only in 2014 when the BJP led by Modi came to power,” she had stated. While the BJP spokesperson in Delhi Nighat Abbass while registering the party’s disagreement with her comments and said even “Modiji was inspired by Gandhiji,” Netaji’s daughter Anita Bose Pfaff slammed Ranaut stating that both Gandhiji and Netaji were “great heroes” in India’s freedom movement and one could not have without the others though the “relationship between the two was a difficult one.”
In a series of social media posts, Abbass said even Prime Minister Narendra Modi was inspired by his teachings and such statements against him amount to defaming India at international level. “Mahatama Gandhi has been given the Father of Nation status by the people of country, whose ideals have kept the Bharatiyata alive in the country, whose thinking has inspired our Prime Minister Narendra Bhai Modi also,” she said.
“I want to know what Kangana Ranaut wants to become by saying absurd things about him. By saying such absurd things she is regularly raising questions on freedom struggle and is hurting the people of country. I believe she is not just hurting people of the country but defaming India at international level,” she said. “Mahatama Gandhi was, is and will be ‘Father of Nation’ and BJP is also inspired by him,” she said.
Ranaut on Tuesday claimed Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh got no support from Mahatma Gandhi and went on to mock his mantra of ahimsa by saying that offering another cheek gets you “bheekh” not freedom.
In making the “bheek” comment, Ranaut wound the clock back to last week when she described India’s Independence as “bheekh”, or alms, and declared that freedom came in 2014.
In a series of posts on Instagram, Ranaut this time targeted Mahatma Gandhi and said “choose your heroes between Gandhiji and Netaji wisely.”
Earlier, BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor had demanded action on her saying she has insulted the families of freedom fighters. The BJP had distanced itself from her comments when last week Ranaut had described the 1947 freedom as “alms” given by the British rulers.
Netaji’s daughter when asked about Ranaut’s comments on relationship between her father and Gandhiji, agreed that the two had a “difficult relationship” as Gandhi felt that he could not control Netaji. “On the other hand, my father was a great admirer of Gandhi,” Anita Bose Pfaff said.
Anita said, “Both of them [Netaji and Gandhi] were great heroes who fought for India’s Independence. One could not have done without the other. It was a combination. It’s not like what some Congress members tried to claim for a long time — that only a non-violent policy was responsible for India’s Independence. We all know that Netaji and INA’s [Indian National Army] actions, too, contributed to India’s freedom.”
“On the other hand, it would be nonsensical to claim that only Netaji and the INA, brought about India’s Independence. Gandhi inspired many, including Netaji,” she added.
Anita said it was naïve to take a one-sided view of Independence when asked about Kangana’s statement that Independence was secured only in 2014 and not in 1947.
