MUMBAI: Those who expected a wiser and a mellowed Kangana Ranaut to emerge form hibernation in Himachal Pradesh were in for a surprise on Monday.
Without pausing to reflect on the court summons that have been served on her, she latched onto the Dussehra speech of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, describing him as “the worst product of nepotism” -- a theme that is close to her heart.
"(Sanjay) Raut called me Haramkhor, now Uddhav (Thackeray) has called me namak-haram (treacherous), he is claiming I won't get food in my state if Mumbai does not give me shelter; shame on you, I am your son's age, this is how you speak to a self-made single woman, Chief Minister you are the worse product of nepotism," the actor said.
Momentarily forgetting that Uddhav is an elected representative of the people and a leader of the largest coalition in the state, she went hammers and tongs at the chief minister. ‘‘Chief Minister I am not drunk on my father's power and wealth like you, if I wanted to be a product of nepotism I could have stayed back in Himachal, I hail from a renowned family, I didn't want to live off their wealth and favours, some people have self-respect and self-worth (sic)," she added.
‘‘As a chief minister, you have let down an entire state only because you are angry with a woman who is of your son's age. You were very angry with me when I compared Mumbai with Pak Occupied Kashmir, after I was threatened, because slogans of 'Free Kashmir' were raised there. Your 'Sonia Sena' had defended all that, that's why I had compared it with PoK,” she said in the video, trying to put her remarks in perspective.
She also took umbrage at Thackeray's reference to ‘ganja fields' in Himachal Pradesh and said it is actually ‘dev bhoomi' -- a land of the gods and the abode of Lord Shiva and Parvati. ‘ ‘Himachal is called ‘Dev Bhumi,’ it has the largest number of temples and no zero crime rate; yes, it has a very fertile land which gives us apples, kiwis, pomegranate and strawberries. One can grow anything here…’’
“What I want to tell you is: governments come and go. You are just a government servant and the people of Maharashtra are not happy with you. Governments come and go but if a person loses respect, he can't get it back,” she said.
The actor said opportunities that Mumbai offered belong to everyone and both Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai were her homes.
(Input PTI)
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