‘Bring back 3 repealed farm laws’: Kangana stokes fresh controversy

A month after the BJP pulled up its Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut for her controversial remarks on farmers’ protest, the actor-turned-politician once again stoked a fresh row stating that the three contentious farm laws, which were repealed after prolonged protests by farmer groups, should be brought back by the government, triggering a sharp reaction from the Congress.

In poll-bound Haryana, where the BJP suffered backlash from farmers in the Lok Sabha elections, BJP leaders reportedly distanced themselves from Mandi MP’s remark, saying “what Kangana says doesn’t become party’s stand.”

“I think the farm laws which have been repealed should be brought back. I understand that it might become controversial but these laws, which are farmer-welfare oriented, should return and farmers should themselves demand for it,” Ranaut said while talking to the media in Mandi on Monday.

She also said that only some states objected to farm laws. “I urge them to demand these laws to be reinstated for the interest of all farmers,” she added.

The Congress hit back, claiming the BJP was using Kangana to advocate for the restoration of those farm laws. Partap Singh Bajwa, leader of the Opposition in Punjab, said the Centre was using Kangana as a mouthpiece to advocate the restoration of the contentious farm legislations. “The BJP should take decisive action against Kangana if they do not stand behind her statement. Kangana Ranaut has persistently targeted the farming community, while the BJP remains a silent spectator. This is no coincidence, it’s a carefully scripted strategy. The BJP is launching a veiled assault on the farmers through her rhetoric,” Bajwa added.

Recently, Kangana had stoked a controversy when she claimed that the farmers’ protest could have led to Bangladesh-like situation. The three farm laws were enacted in September 2020 and the government had claimed that the aim was to increase farmers’ income, but these had to be rolled back after a 16-month-long protest by farmers from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh at Delhi borders.

“There was no doubt that the BJP government at the Centre had enforced those laws for the welfare of farmers. But once PM Narendra Modi took a call to withdraw them, there was nothing left for anyone in the party to say anything more on this issue,” Haryana BJP Mohan Lal Badoli was quoted as saying in media reports.