Kangana Ranaut needs to read up on history and "has no clue", Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said today on the actor's controversial remarks on India's 1947 Independence as "bheekh" or a handout.
In an interview to NDTV, Shashi Tharoor said it was "ridiculous" for Kangana Ranaut to even talk about the freedom movement involving begging from the British.
"I think she needs to read a history a little bit. I don't think she has a clue, unfortunately, if she really thinks that Mahatma Gandhi was going out with a begging goal when he was a man of tremendous pride and distinction who told the British your law is unjust I am breaking your law. Punish me as you wish...I'll take your punishment. Is that the act of a beggar," Mr Tharoor said.
"I mean, it is ridiculous for her to even talk like that about the freedom movement involving begging from the British when in fact it was an act of tremendous courage, moral rectitude, and great fortitude in handling and the strength that these people needed to show. Imagine going defenseless and having those lathis rain down on you. Lala Lajpat Rai died from a lathi charge...hitting his head in a non-violent demonstration. That takes far more courage than going with a gun to shoot somebody and then being shot back."
Kangana Ranaut, who recently received the Padma Shri, has faced wide condemnation over her comments but she remains defiant.
After saying at a media event that India's Independence was "bheekh" and that it won true freedom in 2014 - when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power - the 34-year-actor has dropped more bombshells.
On Tuesday, she targeted Mahatma Gandhi, mocking his mantra of ahimsa (non-violence) saying that offering another cheek gets you "bheekh", not freedom. In a series of posts on Instagram, she said "choose your heroes wisely".
AdvertisementMr Tharoor said: "It seems to me that she needs to really read up on our history. You're calling somebody who begged for mercy in a prison as a Veer. These are also the real veers (heroes) of our freedom struggle, greater views. And they spent even longer in prison." The Congress leader was referring to Veer Savarkar, a BJP icon whose role in the freedom movement has been hotly debated.
