The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief Swati Maliwal wrote a letter to President Ramnath Kovind demanding withdrawal of Padma Shri honour and also sought FIR on sedition charges against Kangana Ranaut.
Maliwal alleged that Ranaut had made an outrageous comment recently in a TV show hurting sentiments of millions by stations that India achieved its freedom in 1947 as a “Bheekh”.
DCW chief asked the President for taking immediate cognisance of these comments, which are not only disrespectful but completely disregard and insult the sacrifices made by our Freedom fighters.
The letter read “our great freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and countless others laid down their lives for getting freedom to our great nation. We all know that our nation got its independence from the British rule through ultimate sacrifices and martyrdom of our great freedom fighters.Ms. Ranaut’s statements have hurt the sentiments of millions of Indians and are seditious in nature.”
Maliwal’s letter further stated that, “The revolt of 1857, the Champaran Satyagrah, the Khilafat movement, the Quit India movement, the Dandi march, the non cooperation movement and countless other protests and the sacrifices of millions of Indians who participated in the same have been demeaned and belittled by Ms. Ranaut through her insensitive and thoughtless lies.”
It further stated, “How can we forget the thousands who had assembled in the Jallianwala Bagh to protest the British rule and the massacre that followed? Are these chapters in our history a ‘bheekh’.?
The letter further drew attention to the fact that this comment of the actress was not an isolated one and she has been making such comments regularly on social media upon anything she disagrees with.
Maliwal also pointed out how her comments were “polarizing in nature and were fostering hatred and division”. Thus she demanded withdrawing Ms Kangana’s Padma Shri award as “she doesn’t deserve the honour at all because it will be an insult to those stalwarts who have received the same prior to her”.
The DCW Chief took to Twitter and slammed Kangana Ranaut for her “insensitive comments” on Indian Freedom. She said, “I have written to President Ramnath Kovind Ji that someone like Kangana Ranaut who doesn’t respect and acknowledge the supreme sacrifices made by our freedom fighters and calls Indian freedom as “Bheekh” should be taught a lesson. I have asked the President to withdraw her Padma Shri immediately and for lodging a FIR on sedition charges against her.”