Kangana Ranaut on why she ‘disdains’ Congress

She said the opposition represented something she had long opposed

New Delhi:

Claiming that he has a “glorious right-wing personality”, Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday accused the Congress of supporting nepotism and specifically targeted its leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.

The actor, who is represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party from Mandi constituency in Himachal Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, also said the Congress “has always been an appalling party to me”.

She said the opposition represented something she had long opposed during her film career.

“The Congress has always been an appalling party to me. Nepotism within the party is a big issue for me as I am a target of the same system in my (film) industry. I openly Condemn it, I am against it. It is exploiting me…nepotism, groupism, dynastic politics…I despise this party,” Ms. Ranaut said at the Age Summit-India Unstoppable 2024 event.

“Nebo kids,” the “Queen” star said when asked to describe the Gandhi siblings in one sentence.

“They’re weird, like they landed from Mars,” she added.

Ms. Ranaut, 37, said she has always sincerely supported the BJP.

“Whether I am a party member or not, I have always fought for the cause of the party. I have spared no effort. I have always felt that my natural position and ideology is to stand with the nationalist government. I have a glorious right – Wing Personality,” said the four-time National Award winner.

Days after Ms Ranaut was appointed as the BJP candidate from Mandi, Congress leaders Supriya Shrinate and HS Ahir posted derogatory remarks against the actor and her constituency on their social media accounts. A proverbial storm set off.

Shrinate defended her on Monday, saying many people had access to her Facebook and Instagram accounts and one of them made inappropriate posts. She also said she had deleted the post and would take action against parody accounts using her name.

The actor, who has publicly condemned the shrine’s posts shared through her social media accounts, said she was hurt by the opposition leader’s comments.

“This thing has set women’s careers back years. She posted very shocking content,” she added.

Ms. Ranaut further said that Shrinate also hurt the people of Himachal Pradesh by comparing the ‘devbhoomi’ mandi to a market.

“The meaning of Mandi is not what the Congress had in mind. The innocent people of Himachal Pradesh were deeply hurt when they saw it as a meat market. Mandi is named after saint Mandav ,”she says.

Asked if she had any message for the shrine, Ms Ranaut said she had nothing to say to the Congress spokesperson.

Ms Ranaut also said it was ironic that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had been part of India’s anti-corruption campaign, was currently in jail on corruption charges.

Asked about her political debut, she said she was “anxious”.

“It’s a complete change of lifestyle. It’s nerve-wracking. It’s a new role… I’m going to be a horse with blinders on. Suddenly the world opens up. I want to do great Good. I wanted to be more involved in the real world and not be consumed by the art world,” Ms. Ranaut added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)