Azadi 'bheekh' and 'asli azadi' came after 2014: Kangana puts her foot in mouth; social media erupts in anger

Padma Shri Kangana Ranaut is in news again and as always for all the wrong reasons! A clip of Kangana Ranaut from an interview with Navika Kumar has been doing the rounds on Twitter since yesterday. Ranaut was heard saying in the video, “Vo azaadi nahi thi, vo bheekh thi. Jo azaadi mili hai, vo 2014 mei mili hai” (What we got in 1947 was not independence, it was alms/charity. We got freedom only in 2014).

The video clip soon evoked a furor on social media. From political leaders to the common Twitter users, netizens responded strongly to Kangana's statement which was apparently issued without much thought.

Gaurav Pandhi, the National Social Media Coordinator for Congress party, took to Twitter to share, “The RSS could never accept the fact that their British masters were forced to leave in 1947. Their slavery knew no bounds. No wonder they didn't hoist the tricolour for half a century. The return of slavery in 2014 was their 'independence'. Kangana Ranaut is just one of them.”

Srinivas BV, the National President of the Indian Youth Congress, asked PM Modi to clarify whether the country is celebrating the 75th year of Independence that was attained because of the sacrifices of the freedom fighters, or what his “Bhakts” think is “bheekh”.

Even BJP’s Varun Gandhi tweeted that he’s confused whether he should term this insult to the country’s freedom fighters as madness or treason.

While some, like senior journalist Madhavan Narayanan, shared a humorous take, saying, “Kangana Ranaut is Prof of History in WhatsApp University.” Twitter user @Pun_Starr said that Ranaut did get freedom in 2014, but it was the freedom to “talk bullshit non-stop”.

There were others who felt that those supporting her views are “traitors”. Rohini Singh tweeted, “Kangana saying outrageous, shameful, sickening things is on expected lines. But the people clapping when our freedom fighters and martyrs were being insulted are not nationalists as they claim. They are traitors of the worst kind.”

Atul Chaurasia, the executive editor of NewsLaundry, went as far as saying that Kangana Ranaut should be sent to a mental asylum now.

Scholar and author Purushottam Agrawal condemned Kangana Ranaut for insulting the freedom fighters and said that it is not just madness but is a reflection of a thought against our country and the unity of our society.

Many Twitter users opined that the organisers of the event and the interviewer Navika Kumar should also be booked under Sedition Act for such a frivolous comment: