New Delhi: Ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections, actor-turned-politician and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut on Tuesday said that repealed farm laws should be brought back in the interest of farmers, triggering backlash from opposition parties.
The Lok Sabha MP from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi called farmers the “pillar of strength in India’s progress” and said they should demand farm laws for their prosperity.
“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 a video shared by Congress on X.
The @BJP4India MP from Mandi, Bollywood actor @KanganaTeam has called for the reinstatement of the controversial #FarmLaws. If the BJP does not support her remarks, it must take immediate action. Using Kangana as a proxy to attack #farmers is a calculated move. The BJP must… https://t.co/wj8gpwUiWc
— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) September 24, 2024
It may be recalled that farmers from Haryana and Punjab led massive protests against now-withdrawn farm laws in 2020 and camped at borders of Delhi for more than a year after three bills were passed by the Parliament.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.
Notably, the Mandi MP’s remark came almost a month after the BJP rebuked her over her controversial comment on the farmers’ protest.
“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 was heard saying in a video shared on microblogging site X.
Congress Social Media Chairperson Supriya Shrinate 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.
