Farmers should demand to bring back repealed farm laws: Kangana Ranaut sparks fresh controversy

Kangana has already been reprimanded once by the BJP after her earlier remarks on the farmers' protests led to controversy and a scathing attack from Congress.

The party rebuke included a summon by party boss JP Nadda and a clarification that her comments do not represent the BJP's views.

This time, speaking to reporters in her Lok Sabha constituency of Mandi on Tuesday, Kangana said the laws, scrapped by the Narendra Modi government in November 2021 following massive 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 but I feel the farms laws that were repealed should be brought back.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 only then did the Modi government wake up and these black laws were withdrawn.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 is also angry with  Kangana Ranaut over the latter's comment about the Himachal Pradesh government and ex-party boss Sonia Gandhi. The party responded sharply to allegations that its state government illegally transferred funds meant for disaster relief to Gandhi.

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

Her 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 eyeing to win the state for a third consecutive time but is aware unhappy farmers could derail that hope.

Meanwhile, Kangana's latest film, 'Emergency', is fighting for a censor certificate.

She has been a strong critic of the farmers' protest in 2020, and as the protests were gathering steam, she allegedly misidentified a woman farmer from Punjab and called her Bilkis Bano.