Simranjit Singh Mann makes objectionable riposte to Kangana Ranaut’s remarks on farm stir

Controversy escalates as BJP MP Kangana Ranaut faces objectionable remarks from SAD leader, sparking national debate on rape culture.

The controversy around Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and actor Kangana Ranaut’s remarks on the farmers’ agitation took an unseemly turn on Thursday (August 29, 2024), with objectionable remarks made against her by former MP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Amritsar president Simranjit Singh Mann, even as BJP president J.P. Nadda met with the actor and Mandi MP in New Delhi.

Mr. Mann, 79, made the disparaging remarks when a reporter in Karnal asked him to comment on an interview given by Ms. Ranaut. He said that Ms. Ranaut could comment on “rapes” as she had knowledge of the crime.

Ms. Ranaut had recently posted a clip from an interview to a media house in which she had suggested that a “Bangladesh-like situation” could have erupted in India during the farmers’ agitation against the three farm laws (later rolled back) but for the country’s strong leadership. She alleged that “bodies were hanging and rapes were taking place during the farmers’ protest”. Ms. Ranaut’s comments had drawn criticism from all quarters, including the Opposition Congress and farmers’ union Samyukta Kisan Morcha. The BJP had then released a statement distancing itself from Ms. Ranaut’s remarks, adding that she was not authorised to speak on policy issues either.

Mr. Nadda’s meeting with Ms. Ranaut was in the way of reiterating the BJP’s view on such remarks, and to ensure that the reprimand would be taken as such and party discipline maintained.

Mr. Mann’s statement, however, has added fuel to the controversy, with Ms. Ranaut reacting sharply to the objectionable comments.

“It seems this country will never stop trivialising rape,” she posted on social media platform X. “No wonder rapes and violence against women are so deep-rooted in the psyche of this patriarchal nation that they are used to mock even high-profile film makers and politicians,” she added.

Haryana State Commission for Women Chairperson Renu Bhatia also condemned Mr. Mann’s comments. Such a statement is an “insult to our daughters”, she said.