NEW DELHI: BJP MP Kangana Ranaut’s remarks against Gen Z protesters in the country triggered sharp reactions from Opposition leaders on Tuesday, with Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain saying "nobody takes her seriously” and accusing her of lacking an understanding of democracy and student movements.
Other Opposition leaders also dismissed her comments, questioning her political understanding and credibility.
Reacting to actor-turned-politician Ranaut’s remarks, Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain said, “Nobody takes her seriously; she has no knowledge of students’ movement, democracy, or democratic way of life; she always says baseless things…”
Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat also hit out at the BJP MP, saying her past statements reflected a lack of political understanding.
“…She may be a good actress, but as an MP, she calls Subhas Chandra Bose the country’s first Prime Minister, and says the country became Independent only after 2014. There is no need to take her seriously. Even her own party, the BJP, does not take her seriously; no need to take her seriously,” Bhagat said.
Samajwadi Party leader Udaiveer Singh echoed similar views, saying Ranaut’s political understanding was limited.
“Her political understanding is limited. To win elections, people sometimes field film stars as candidates, but that does not mean every film star also has political understanding. In the BJP government, such people are given positions in name only, while the BJP itself handles the actual work. Therefore, her statements should be taken only as seriously as her level of political experience and understanding,” Singh said.
The Opposition’s criticism comes after Ranaut sparked a controversy with her comments targeting Gen Z protesters. Criticising the language used by demonstrators during protests at Jantar Mantar and other locations, the BJP MP described their social media content as “puke-inducing” and used strong language to denounce their conduct.
Ranaut wrote: “Never in my life have I seen so much ugliness in one place. These reels from Gen Z protests are puke-inducing. The way they speak and the kind of language they are using… never in my life have I seen everything in each and every frame so jarring and so crass all at once.”
Her remarks have since drawn criticism from Opposition parties, which accused her of making insensitive and provocative statements instead of engaging with the concerns being raised by young protesters about the paper leaks in the country.
