Chief of Delhi Commission for Women Demands Kangana be Stripped of Award for Disrespecting India

After Kangana Ranaut's freedom struggle comments went viral, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Varun Gandhi blasted the actress, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wrote to the Mumbai Police demanding a case be filed against her. Members of Congress and other parties called her words "insulting."

Amid the uproar over actress Kangana Ranaut saying that "India only attained freedom in 2014 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power," Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief Swati Maliwal on Sunday wrote to President Ramnath Kovind requesting him to withdraw her Padma Shri honour, India's fourth-highest civilian award.

The DCW chief also urged the police to file sedition charges against Ranaut.

"Kangana Ranaut has made fun of the sacrifices of Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh. The freedom struggles of millions of Indians seems like a joke to her. She doesn't need an award, she needs treatment. I have written a letter to the president to take away the Padma Shri honour from her and a case should be lodged against her," DCW Chief Maliwal tweeted in Hindi.

कंगना रनाउत ऐसी महिला है जिसे गांधी भगत सिंह की शहादत मज़ाक़ लगती है और लाखों लोगों की त्याग तपस्या से हासिल आज़ादी भीख लगती है! इसको पुरस्कार की नही इलाज की ज़रूरत है!

मैंने राष्ट्रपति को पत्र लिखा है कि तुरंत रनाउत का पद्म श्री वापिस लेके उसपे राष्ट्रद्रोह की FIR होनी चाहिए! pic.twitter.com/GqlwwUSpfK

— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) November 14, 2021

In her letter to the president, Maliwal also said that Kangana "habitually spews venom against the people of her own country and has repeatedly used vile language to attack those she doesn't agree with."

"Her behaviour is in no way befitting of the recipient of the fourth-highest award in the country and is also an insult to the stalwarts who received the award with or before her. Considering the same, I request your honourable self to kindly take cognizance of the matter and withdraw the Padma Shri bestowed upon Ms. Ranaut. I also request you to kindly ensure that an FIR is registered against her on charges of sedition," Maliwal wrote in her letter.

Ranaut’s recent statement on India's freedom struggle during a TV interview has triggered controversy, with politicians across the country urging the government to strip the actress of her awards.

“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,” the letter reads.

The Bollywood actress defended herself on Instagram on Sunday, saying that she's ready to return her Padma Shri if someone proves that she disrespected the Indian martyrs.

"Everything is very clearly mentioned in the same interview 1857 first collective fight for freedom along with the sacrifice of greats like Subhash Chandra Bose, Rani Laxmibai, and Veer Savarkar ji. 1857 I know but which war took place in 1947 I am not aware, if someone can bring to my awareness I will give back my Padma Shri and apologise also please help me with this," she wrote.

During the TV interview, she claimed that India attained freedom in 2014 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.