Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 24: Creating more trouble for the BJP ahead of the crucial Haryana state Assembly elections next month, actor-politician BJP member of Parliament Kangana Ranaut on Tuesday advocated that the repealed farm laws should be brought back “in the interest of the farmers,” triggering a huge backlash from opposition parties.
The Lok Sabha MP from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi called farmers “pillar of strength in India’s progress” and said they should demand bringing back the farm laws “for their own prosperity.” speaking to reporters in her Lok Sabha constituency of Mandi on Tuesday, Ms Ranaut said the three farm laws rolled back by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2021 after massive (and violent) nationwide agitations – “should be brought back… (and) farmers themselves should demand it.”
Apparently ignoring the BJP high command’s earlier warning to her not to mess around the sensitive farmers’ issues, Ms Ranaut said, “the three farm laws should be brought back. I think this can become controversial. They are in farmers’ interest. Farmers should demand (to bring farm laws back) so that they can prosper…. Farmers are pillar of strength in India’s progress. Only some states objected to farm laws. I urge that farm laws should be brought back in the interest of farmers,” Ranaut was heard as saying in her home constituency in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, in a video on X.
Farmers from Haryana and Punjab were among those who had played leading roles in the massive protests against now-withdrawn three farm laws in 2020 and camped at borders of Delhi for more than a year after three bills were passed by the Parliament. However, the government withdrew the laws after protesting farmers did not back down from their demands.
Her controversial statement comes about a month after she was rebuked by the party for drawing similarity between the farmers’ protest against the now repealed three farm laws and the recent Bangladesh civil war that resulted in the throwing out of the Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government.
“Bangladesh-like anarchy could have happened in India also like in the name of Farmers protest. Outside forces are planning to destroy us with the help of insiders. If it hadn’t been the foresight of our leadership they would have succeeded,” Kangana Ranaut had said. The party president JP Nadda not only summoned her and told her to stay away from making comments on farmers’ agitation, the party was also forced to issue a clarification claiming that Ranuat was not authorised to speak on the party’s policies on farmers after the Congress Social Media Chairperson Supriya Shrinate brought out the fact had said Ranaut called country’s farmers “murderers and rapists.”
Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa said the BJP must take immediate action against the actor if the party does not support her remark. “Using Kangana as a proxy to attack farmers is a calculated move. The BJP must clarify its stance on the farmers and the farm laws. Rather than pushing for these destructive laws, Kangana should step away from politics and focus on reviving her fading Bollywood career,” the Congress leader wrote on X.
AAP MP from Punjab Malvinder Singh Kang said, “I feel sorry for PM Modi. He said he was unable to understand farmers’ concerns and he is taking back (farmers’) laws… It seems like either Kangana is challenging PM Modi or PM Modi has become helpless, only BJP can tell.”
The Congress ripped into BJP and vowed “these black laws will (never be brought back now)… no matter how hard Modi and his MPs try.” “More than 750 farmers were martyred… only then did the Modi government wake up and these black laws were withdrawn. Now BJP MPs are planning to bring them back… but Congress is with the farmers,” party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate responded, pointing to next week’s Haryana election.
The Congress and Kangana Ranaut have also gone head-to-head over the latter’s comment about the Himachal Pradesh government and ex-party boss Sonia Gandhi. The party responded angrily to allegations its state government illegally transferred funds meant for disaster relief to Ms Gandhi.