Congress, NCP slam BJP over Kangana Ranaut’s tweet about ‘appeasing’ the party

Ranaut had criticised Matondkar over a new office purchased by the latter after joining Shiv Sena and said all she got after appeasing the BJP was 25-30 cases

The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party have slammed actor Kangana Ranaut and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for her tweet on “appeasing BJP” and said this was proof that she was acting against the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government on direction of the party.

Kangana Ranaut. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

The ruling parties also said that the BJP had sinned and the sin could not be washed off even if the party apologised to the people of Maharashtra.

A day after Ranaut took a dig at Shiv Sena leader and actor Urmila Matondkar, the ruling parties said the people of Maharashtra will take a stand against the betrayal by the BJP.

Ranaut had criticised Matondkar over a new office purchased by the latter after joining Sena. “Dear@UrmilaMatondkar ji the houses I constructed through my hard work were demolished by Congress. By appeasing BJP, I was handed just 25-30 cases. Had I been as smart as you, I would have appeased Congress. How stupid I am, right?” Ranaut tweeted in Hindi.

“It is true that I purchased an office at Pali Hill, but it has nothing to do with me joining the Shiv Sena. The office was purchased from the amount I had received after selling a flat in Andheri. Ever since I entered into politics, there have been attempts to defame me, but I am not going to deviate from my aim. These attempts are not going to make any difference to me. I am open to disclose all the documents of the transactions related to the office to anybody,” she said. Matondkar also said the documents related to both her transactions (sale and purchase of the two properties) were available with the authorities concerned and she could make them available for media persons too.

Congress’s state general secretary and spokesperson Sachin Sawant said it has been established that BJP was behind the conspiracy to defame Maharashtra and Mumbai.

“Ranaut herself has admitted that she was trying to make BJP happy. This proves that BJP was behind the conspiracy [which according to the Congress was planned during the Sushant Singh Rajput death case probe] to defame Mumbai Police and Maharashtra. BJP cannot get wash off its sin even if it apologises to the people of Maharashtra. We condemn BJP,” he said.

Sawant said it was unfortunate that BJP supported the actor who likened Mumbai with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and termed Mumbai Police “mafia”.

NCP legislator and party chief Sharad Pawar’s grandnephew Rohit Pawar, too hit, out at BJP. “We should congratulate Kangana for her candid admission that she was targeting Maharashtra government to make BJP happy. By doing so, she has exposed BJP. Now the people of Maharashtra will decide about this betrayal by BJP,” he tweeted in Marathi.

BJP spokesperson Vishwas Pathak dismissed the controversy. “It is a battle between two film actors and no serious attention needs to be given to it. BJP has nothing to do with it,” he said.