Kangana Ranaut shares post about Mahatma Gandhi, says 'offering another cheek' gets ‘bheekh’, not freedom

On Tuesday, actor Kangana Ranaut shared an old article and said that one either support Mahatma Gandhi or Subhas Chandra Bose. “You can't be both, choose and decide,” she said.

Actor Kangana Ranaut has once again stirred up controversy with her views on India's independence struggle against British rule. Last week, while speaking at a summit she said that India's freedom was a ‘bheekh (handout)’. On Tuesday, she stood by her statement and advised people to choose their heroes wisely.

Kangana Ranaut stands by her controversial remark on India’s independence.

On Tuesday, Kangana shared an old newspaper article and wrote, “Either you are a Gandhi fan or Netaji supporter. You can't be both, choose and decide.” The newspaper had an old article from the 1940s with the headline, “Gandhi, others agreed to hand over Netaji.”

Kangana Ranaut shared an old article on Instagram. (Instagram)

Kangana said that freedom fighters were ‘handed over’ to the British by those ‘who had no courage’ to fight oppression but were ‘power-hungry’. She took potshots at Mahatma Gandhi and said, “Those are the ones who taught us, if someone slaps you offer another cheek for one more slap and that is how you will get aazaadi. That's not how one gets aazadi, one can only get bheekh like that. Choose your heroes wisely.”

Kangana claimed that Gandhi ‘never supported’ Bhagat Singh or Subhas Chandra Bose. “So you need to choose who you support because just placing them all in one box of your memory and every year wishing them all on their birth anniversaries is not enough. In fact, it is not just dumb, it is highly irresponsible and superficial. One must know their history and their heroes,” she said.

A few days ago, the 34-year-old Padma Shri awardee said during the Times Now Summit that India's independence in 1947 was not freedom but ‘bheekh’ (alms) and the country got real independence in 2014 when the Narendra Modi-led government came into power. The comments drew flak from several politicians and others.

The Congress on Friday demanded that the Centre take back Kangana's Padma Shri honour for insulting the country’s independence movement.