'Country doesn't have fathers': Kangana stirs fresh row

Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut courted a new controversy on Wednesday with a social media post about Mahatma Gandhi and former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

The actor, who previously faced backlash for her comments on the farmers' protests, paid homage to Shastri on his 120th birth anniversary through a post that appeared to downplay Gandhi's stature as the Father of the Nation.

"Desh ke pita nahi, desh ke to lal hote hai. Dhanye hai Bharat ma ke ye lal ('The country does not have fathers; it has sons. Blessed are these sons of Mother India)" Ranaut wrote on her Instagram Stories.

In a follow-up post, the actor credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for carrying forward Gandhi's legacy on cleanliness in the country.

The post on Shastri and Gandhi has led to yet another row for the BJP MP from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, with Congress leader Supriya Shrinate criticising Ranaut for her "lewd jibe" at Gandhi.

"BJP MP Kangana made this lewd jibe on Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary. Godse worshippers draw distinctions between Bapu and Shastri ji. Will Narendra Modi wholeheartedly forgive his party's new Godse devotee? There is the Father of the Nation, there are sons, and there are martyrs. Everyone deserves respect," Shrinate said in a post on X.

In March, Shrinate herself had been embroiled in controversy before the Lok Sabha elections over an objectionable post regarding the actor.

Manoranjan Kalia, a senior BJP leader from Punjab, also criticised Ranaut for her latest remarks.

"I condemn Kangana Ranaut's comments made on Gandhi ji's 155th birth anniversary. In her short political career, she has developed a habit of making controversial statements," Kalia said in a video posted on social media.

"Politics is not her field. Politics is a serious affair. One must think before speaking... Her controversial remarks cause trouble for the party," he added.

It was only last month that Ranaut faced backlash for advocating the return of the three farm laws repealed in 2021.

The actor, who was elected as an MP in June, alleged that the farmers' agitation against the three farm laws was leading to a "Bangladesh-type situation in India", claiming that "dead bodies were hanging, and rapes were taking place" at the protest sites.

Ranaut later retracted her statement, acknowledging that she should remember she is not just an artist but also a BJP member.