Kangana dancing to the tune of external forces, domestic lackeys Adani, Ambani: AIKS

Counterview Desk

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has demanded apology from actor-turned-BJP MP Kangana Ranaut's statement comparing the farmers' agitation in 2020-21 as having been supported by external forces with the recent upheaval in Bangladesh which forced Sheikh Hasina to flee the country.

Asking the Supreme Court to take suo moto cognizance and action "for deliberately creating discord against farmers", AIKS reminded her, "One of the greatest icons of militant anti-imperialism and the freedom struggle, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, was the most popular image of resistance during the Kisan struggle."

Text:

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) strongly condemns the irresponsible and malicious statements made by Kangana Ranaut, BJP MP from Mandi against farmers and the historic farmers’ movement that ferociously fought the corporate takeover of Indian agriculture. In a recent interview with a Hindi daily, the actress turned BJP MP described the farmers’ movement as an anti-national force engaged in destabilising India with the help of “external forces”. She went further and depicted the farmers’ movement as planning a ‘colour revolution’ similar to what happened in Bangladesh.

As a matter of fact, Kangana Ranaut’s despise towards the legendary and patriotic farmers’ movement is well documented. When the farmers were bravely fighting the harsh weather, the Covid pandemic, and the state violence unleashed by the RSS-BJP regime, Ranaut was dancing to the tune set by “external forces”— the hegemonic global finance — and their domestic lackeys like Adani and Ambani.

Her spiteful remarks on the peasantry, especially the denigrating remarks about peasant women exposed the fact that Ranaut will go to any extent to please her “external” and “internal” bosses who want to devour agriculture.

Ranaut, who was the most obnoxious cheerleader of the pro-corporate Farm Laws also made totally false statements trying to connect "rapes and murders" with farmers' movement. It is a plain truth that the Kisan struggle had 736 martyrs and Ranaut's colleagues in the RSS-BJP actually murdered protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri.

AIKS reminds Ranaut and her colleagues in the RSS-BJP that the farmers’ movement against the draconian Farm Laws drew its inspiration from the anti-imperialist freedom struggle against the British. One of the greatest icons of militant anti-imperialism and the freedom struggle, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, was the most popular image of resistance during the Kisan struggle.

The reactionary communal forces like the RSS, the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League which betrayed the freedom struggle and acted as the stooges of British imperialism do not have any moral authority to question the patriotism of the peasantry and the working people. AIKS reiterates that, if implemented, the Farm Laws would have compromised the sovereignty and the food security of the country.

AIKS demands that Ranaut immediately withdraw her statements and apologise to the farmers for her malicious and provocative remarks.The prime minister Narendra Modi should also apologise to the farmers.The Supreme Court should take suo moto cognizance of Ranaut's statements for deliberately misleading and creating discord against farmers and take strong deterrent action against her.

-- Ashok Dhawale, President; Vijoo Krishnan, General Secretary

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Advocacy group decries 'hyper-centralization' as States’ share of health funds plummets

By A Representative In a major pre-budget mobilization, the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), India’s leading public health advocacy network, has issued a sharp critique of the Union government’s health spending and demanded a doubling of the health budget for the upcoming 2026-27 fiscal year.

Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar’s views on religion as Tagore’s saw them

By Harasankar Adhikari Religion has become a visible subject in India’s public discourse, particularly where it intersects with political debate. Recent events, including a mass Gita chanting programme in Kolkata and other incidents involving public expressions of faith, have drawn attention to how religion features in everyday life. These developments have raised questions about the relationship between modern technological progress and traditional religious practice.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb: Akbar to Shivaji -- the cross-cultural alliances that built India

By Ram Puniyani What is Indian culture? Is it purely Hindu, or a blend of many influences? Today, Hindu right-wing advocates of Hindutva claim that Indian culture is synonymous with Hindu culture, which supposedly resisted "Muslim invaders" for centuries. This debate resurfaced recently in Kolkata at a seminar titled "The Need to Protect Hinduism from Hindutva."

Search This Blog