Bollywood actor and BJP MP from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut, has received death threats from Sikh extremist groups ahead of the release of her next film ‘Emergency’, in which she plays the role of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The threats came following the release of the film’s trailer on social media. The actor has sought police help in connection with the matter.
In a video on X, six men are seen sitting in circle in a room, two of them are dressed like Nihang Sikhs. One of the men says that if the movie is released, the Sikh community will condemn it. “Your movie will be received with chappals,” he says.
“If in the movie he (Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale) is portrayed as a terrorist, remember what happened to the person (Indira Gandhi) whose movie you are doing,” warns another man, identified as Vicky Thomas Singh. He regularly shares videos praising Bhindranwale.
In the video, Vicky Singh also talked about Indira Gandhi’s bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh who assassinated the former PM in 1984.
“Who were Satwant Singh and Beant Singh? We will offer our heads, but if we can get our heads chopped, we can also chop them off,” he continued.
Ranaut shared the post and tagged Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP), Himachal Police and Punjab Police. “Please look in to this,” she wrote on X.
Several organisations, icnlduing the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee have demanded a ban on the release of the film, claiming it spreads an “anti-Sikh” narrative, and misrepresents Sikhs as “separatists”.
Kangana Ranaut irks farmer leaders
A few days ago, Kangana Ranaut found herself in another controversy after she shared a video comparing farmers’ protest to the unrest in Bangladesh.
In a video shared on X, Ranaut claimed that during the farmers’ protest against the three farm laws, “bodies were seen hanging and rapes were taking place”.
“What happened in Bangladesh, it could have easily happened here too… There is a conspiracy by foreign powers and these filmy people thrive on it. They don’t care if the country goes to the dogs,” she said in the video.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ambavata leader Dilbagh Singh Hooda said that the BJP MP should be cautious about her statements.
the BJP distanced itself from Kangana Ranaut’s statements and asked her to refrain from giving such statements in the future.
“The statement made by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut in the context of the farmers’ protest does not reflect the party’s stance. The Bharatiya Janata Party expresses its disagreement with her remarks,” the party said in a statement.