Ticked off by BJP, Kangana retracts farm law remarks
Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday issued a rare apology for suggesting the reintroduction of the controversial three farm laws — a statement the Haryana BJP believes has hurt the party’s campaign strategy ahead of the October 5 poll.
Editorial: Not again, Kangana
The Tribune has learnt that top Haryana BJP poll managers, likely at the level of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, poll in-charge, flagged to BJP president JP Nadda the possible implications of Kangana’s remarks. This led to the party officially distancing from it and instructing her to do damage control.
Rahul asks PM to Clarify stand
- Rahul Gandhi has said PM Modi must clarify whether he is “opposed to the (Kangana’s) comments or is up to some mischief”
- Any attempt to revive the farm laws would be met with opposition from the INDIA bloc, he said
Hours after she defended her stand on farm laws as “personal”, Kangana on Wednesday issued a video message, saying she regretted her statement and was withdrawing it. “I was asked some questions about farm laws and I said farmer unions should request the PM to reintroduce these. Many people are disappointed due to my remarks. When the laws were proposed, several people had supported it, but with great sensitivity and empathy, PM Modi had withdrawn these. It is the duty of all (BJP) workers to honour the PM’s word,” she said.
Kangana, who has been making off-the-cuff remarks consistently and landing the BJP in trouble, is learnt to have been instructed by the top brass to publicly state her willingness to toe the party line. Accordingly, she said, “I will also have to mind that I am no longer an artiste, but a BJP worker and my opinions should not be personal and these should be the party’s stated stand. So if my words and thoughts disappointed anyone, I regret and take my words back.”
Though there was no official confirmation available on the channels the BJP deployed to tick off Kangana or on whether Pradhan spoke to Nadda, it is learnt that the issue was taken up at the highest levels, which explains Kangana’s rare retraction. Nevertheless, Haryana BJP leaders feel the MP’s statement has already done some damage.
A BJP source said it was “obvious that the PMO was displeased because PM Modi’s stand on farm laws is clear and Kangana’s statement was contrary to it”. “The PM has repeatedly cautioned BJP cadres against making divisive and irresponsible statements. His word is above everything else,” BJP national spokesperson Manjinder Singh Sirsa told The Tribune.
BJP spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill from Punjab said Kangana’s consistent, baseless, illogical rant against the farmers and Sikh community had a damaging impact on all the good work done and being done by the PM for the welfare of Punjab, Punjabi & Punjabiyat. A Himachal BJP leader said Kangana’s move to issue an apology was uncharacteristic of her and clearly showed she had been reprimanded by the party top brass.
