Kangana Ranaut hits out at Rahul Gandhi over 'Shakti' remark; 'how can he say such things'

Bollywood actor-turned politician Kangana Ranaut, who was fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his 'Shakti' remark.

She slammed Gandhi, asking, "how could he say such things in a Hindu Rashtra."

She then took a dig at the Wayanad MP, questioning who has been writing his speeches.

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"Rahul Gandhi says he wants to destroy 'Shakti'. Who writes such speeches for him? How can Rahul Gandhi say such kind of things in Hindu Rashtra? I want the people of Mandi to give an answer to those who have spoken indecently about women. The people of India have always blessed me," Kangana said.

What did Rahul Gandhi say?

The row over Gandhi's 'Shakti' remark erupted earlier this month when the Congress leader criticised BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on multiple fronts, including allegations of tampering with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), during his address in Mumbai at the closing ceremony of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (Unite India Justice march).

He stated that the opposition was struggling against the might of the state.

“There is a word 'Shakti' (might) in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti (might of the state). The question is, what is that Shakti and what does it entail for us? The soul and integrity of EVMs have been traded to the King (Modi). This is a fact. Not just EVMs but every autonomous institution of the country, be it the ED, CBI or Income Tax department, have traded their spines to the Centre," Gandhi said.

His remarks invited sharp criticism from the Saffron party who also filed a complaint against Gandhi with the Election Commission.

"As the term 'Shakti' is traditionally associated with the female deity and women folk in India, thus along with hurting the religious sentiments, it also has an underlying misogynistic tone," the BJP said in its complaint.

'Modi ji twisting 'Shakti' remark', alleged Gandhi

The Congress leader then issued a clarification over his remarks stating that PM Modi was “twisting" the comments he made after the Indian prime minister said that the grand old party and INDIA bloc were trying to challenge the concept of 'Nari Shakti'.

“Modi ji does not like my words, he always tries to change their meaning by twisting them in some way or the other because he knows that I have spoken a deep truth. The Shakti that I mentioned, the Shakti that we are fighting, is the mask of that power, Modi ji," Rahul Gandhi said in a long post on X.

(With inputs from agencies)