.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
Actor and BJP MP 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, who is BJP's MP from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, has sought police help in connection with the matter.
In one of the videos on social media, Vicky Thomas Singh, a Christian turned Nihang Sikh, gives a veiled mention of the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi - who Ranaut plays in the movie.
"If in the movie he (slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale) is portrayed as a terrorist, remember what happened to the person (Indira Gandhi) whose movie you are doing? Who were Satwant Singh and Beant Singh? We will offer our head to Santji, and those who can offer head can also chop it off," the man said in the video.
Satwant Singh and Beant Singh were the two bodyguards of Indira Gandhi, who assassinated her on October 31, 1984.
Sharing the video on X, Ranaut sought police help.
"Please look into this," she wrote on the micro-blogging site and tagged Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab Police.
Several Sikh organisations have called for the banning of the movie, which will release on September 6, claiming that it portrayed the Sikh community in a bad light.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee said that Bhindranwale has been declared a community martyr, and portraying the entire Sikh community as separatists is wrong.
Kangana Ranaut, who is the BJP's MP from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, found herself in the midst of 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.
She further alleged that vested interests and "foreign powers" were part of the protests even after the laws were rolled back.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ambavata leader Dilbagh Singh Hooda said that the BJP MP should be cautious about her statements.
"Calling the farmers rapists is condemnable. You should tender an unconditional apology, failing which we will stage a protest," Hooda said.
Sayunkt Kisan Morcha (non-political) leader Abhimanyu Kohar demanded that the BJP distance itself from Kangana Ranaut's statement, and that failing to do so would deem her remarks as those of the BJP.
"We will raise this issue at a farmers' rally being held at Anaj Mandi Jind on September 15," Kohar said.
Another farmer leader, Tejveer Singh of the BKU, Shahid Bhagat Singh, said, "We do not take her statement seriously. She is a habitual offender who indulges in provocative statements to earn cheap publicity."
Meanwhile, 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.
Meanwhile, Kangana Ranaut also praised Indira Gandhi for her action against separatist forces.
"She (Indira Gandhi) had crushed them under her shoes. She had to crush them like mosquitoes by sacrificing her own life and stopping the disintegration of the country," the BJP MP said.
