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‘Should I give the money like an idiot?’: Kangana Ranaut lashes out at Himachal Pradesh officials over unused funds
Kangana Ranaut claimed that of the ₹11 crore allocated, around half of the money had still not been used.
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BJP MP Kangana Ranaut lost her patience with officials during a District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, questioning them over the non-utilisation of funds and a growing backlog of development works in her constituency.
In a video from the meeting doing the rounds online, Ranaut is heard taking officials to task over what she described as delays in using public money.
“What is this behaviour? Why are we holding meetings if you don't want to do anything? It's become a bloody joke,” she said.
Ranaut claimed that of the ₹11 crore allocated, around half of the money had still not been used. She also alleged that some of the funds had been taken but not utilised, and urged officials to put pressure on those concerned to return the public money.
“You guys should put the pressure and take the public money back from them,” she said.
Questioning whether the issue fell within her scope of work, Ranaut said there was a backlog of funds from the previous year that remained untouched.
“Should I give the money like an idiot? Who is going to look after this backlog?” she asked.
She also criticised officials over the slow pace of development work, saying that only around ₹5 crore worth of work remained in the Mandi area she referred to as “Mandik Shekhar”.
'Negative publicity'
Ranaut further expressed frustration over what she described as negative publicity surrounding the lack of progress.
“So much negative publicity is happening, so many people are making reels. Even after that, do you guys sit in your offices and laugh?” she asked.
In another part of the meeting, Ranaut said people had begun questioning her during interviews about why certain works in the constituency were not being completed.
“We do what falls within our scope of work, but there are shortcomings on the part of the state government as well,” she said, adding that she had held several meetings and tried to engage with officials.
Ranaut said she had warned departments that she would prepare a formal report and send it to the Centre if there was no visible improvement.
She also alleged that obstacles were being created for 11 road projects worth ₹75 crore and accused Congress MLAs of taking credit for projects brought to the area under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
“Don’t give me these useless jumlas (fake promises). I’m getting them at every Disha Committee meeting,” the 40-year-old BJP MP said.
(With ANI inputs)
