"Farmers Should Demand...": Kangana Ranaut's Latest Draws Congress Fury

The Congress ripped into Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kangana Ranaut Tuesday afternoon following the actor-politician's fresh comment on the three farm laws that were at the core of the farmers' protest of 2020.

Ms Ranaut has already been reprimanded once after earlier remarks on the farmers' protests led to controversy, and a scathing attack from the Congress. A clarification accompanied that rebuke, which included a summons by party boss JP Nadda - that her comments do not represent the BJP's views.

This time, speaking to reporters in her Lok Sabha constituency of Mandi today, Ms Ranaut said the laws - rolled back by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in November 2021 after massive (and violent) nationwide agitations - "should be brought back... (and) farmers themselves should demand it".

"I know this will be controversial... but I feel the farms laws that were repealed should be brought back. The farmers themselves should demand it. They are a pillar of strength for the nation's development and I want to appeal to them - demand the laws back for your own good," she said.

A furious Congress tweeted a video of her statement 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 only then did the Modi government wake up and these black laws were withdrawn.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.

READ | Congress' "Apologise Or" Warning After Kangana's Sonia Gandhi Jab

The hill state's Public Works Department Minister - Vikramaditya Singh - warned Ms Ranaut to either withdraw the accusation or face legal action.

Ms Ranaut's latest jab comes days before the Assembly election in Haryana, from where lakhs of farmers marched on Delhi and participated in multiple blockades against the city. The BJP is bidding to win the state for a third consecutive time, but is aware unhappy farmers could derail that hope.

The April-June general election served up a warning; the BJP scored a clean sweep of the state's 10 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 poll but got only five this time, with the Congress winning the rest.

That Ms Ranaut's earlier statement struck a jarring note was evident in the way the BJP's Haryana and Punjab leaders reacted; she was told it was not her place to speak on the farmers issue and voters were reassured that the Prime Minister and his government are "farmer-friendly".

The actor - whose latest film, 'Emergency', is fighting for a censor certificate - is known for provocative remarks. She is also a strong critic of the farmers' protest; in 2020, as the protests were gathering steam, she allegedly misidentified a woman farmer from Punjab and called her Bilkis Bano.

That swipe resurfaced in June this year after she was slapped by a woman CISF officer.

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