5 controversial remarks made by Kangana Ranaut—from comparing Mumbai to PoK to calling India’s independence ‘bheek’

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday distanced itself from Kangana Ranaut's comments regarding the farmers' agitation and advised the Mandi MP to avoid making similar statements in the future.

The party disagreed with the actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut's views on the farmers' protest, saying she was neither permitted nor allowed to make statements on the party’s behalf.  

In a video shared on the microblogging platform X, the Bollywood actress alleged that “bodies were seen hanging and rapes were taking place” during the farmers' agitation against the now-repealed farm laws.

Also Read: Kangana Ranaut gets death threats ahead of Emergency release, ‘…toh sar kaat bhi sakte hai’. Watch

She also blamed “outside forces” and the vested interests of “insiders" behind the continuation of the protests. “Outside forces are planning to destroy us with the help of insiders. If it wouldn't have been the foresight of our leadership, they would have succeeded.”

Kangana Ranaut is known to wade into controversies. Here are the top five problematic statements made by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut.

1. Kangana on India's Independence in 1947

Taking part in the annual summit of a national media network, guest speaker Kangana talked about India's freedom struggle. “Woh azaadi nahi thi, woh bheek thi. Aur jo azaadi mili hai woh 2014 mai mili hai (That wasn’t freedom; those were alms. We (Indians) got real freedom in 2014.)”

2. Comparing Mumbai to PoK

Kangana Ranaut compared Mumbai to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, claiming that the Mumbai police were more menacing than Bollywood's mafias. Her remarks were in response to Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, who had criticised her for her negative comments about the Mumbai Police.

Also Read: Trouble for Kangana Ranaut? SGPC seeks ban on ‘Emergency’ for ‘inciting religious sentiments of Sikhs’

In a post on X, Ranaut had posted, “I am never wrong and my enemies prove again and again this is why my Mumbai is POK now [sic].”

Her post had sparked a political uproar involving former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The controversy was further fueled when a municipal team unexpectedly visited Kangana's production house, issued a notice for illegal construction, and proceeded with a demolition drive.

3. “Urmila Matondkar, a ‘soft porn star’”

In another controversy in 2020, Kangana called actress-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar 'a soft porn star'. Kangana made the statement against Urmila, then a Congress leader, during a TV interview.

Also Read: Kangana Ranaut slams Bollywood’s silence over ‘slap’ incident in now-deleted Insta posts: ‘Be ready for the day...’

Visibly miffed over questions regarding her political aspirations, Kangana responded by saying if Urmila, who, according to her, was only known for her ‘soft porn films’, could get an election ticket, why couldn’t she?

Urmila made her political debut as a Congress candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha election from the Mumbai North seat. She lost. Later, she resigned from Congress and joined Shiv Sena in 2020.

4. Kangana's stand on 'farmers protest'

Kangana also received flak for “wrongly” identifying an elderly woman at the farmers' stir as “Bilkis dadi,” who had protested against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (now implemented) at Shaheen Bagh in the national capital. She said, “She is the same old lady featured in Time magazine for being the most powerful woman.”

Also Read: Kangana Ranaut gets another legal notice for ’defamatory’ tweet on farmers’ protest

During the height of the Farmers' Protest in 2020-21, Kangana Ranaut made several controversial remarks, labelling farmers as “terrorists.” In February 2021, X removed some of her posts for violating the platform's hate speech policies.

5. Casteist remark on Rahul Gandhi

Following Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's allegations of being ‘insulted’ and ‘abused’ by BJP's Anurag Thakur in the Lok Sabha, Kangana Ranaut posted an old video of the Congress MP where he was invoking caste in public meetings.

Also Read: ‘Rahul Gandhi should seek therapy sessions’, Kangana Ranaut hits out at Congress MP over Lok Sabha speech

“You know nothing of your own caste, your grandfather is Muslim, grandmother Parsi, mummy Christian, and it feels like someone tempered pasta with curry leaves to make rice and lentils, but he wants to know everyone’s caste [sic],” Kangana Ranaut wrote about Rahul Gandhi.

(With inputs from agencies)