If a Muslim said what Kangana did, he would've been shot and branded traitor: Owaisi

Actor Kangana Ranaut, who was recently awarded the Padma Shri, had described the country's Independence in 1947 as "bheek" (alms).
File photo of Owaisi standing behind a podium and addressing a gathering
File photo of Owaisi standing behind a podium and addressing a gathering
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Hyderabad Member of Parliament (MP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday, November 14, lashed out at actor Kangana Ranaut who had earlier kicked off a row by saying India attained "real freedom" in 2014, referring to the Narendra Modi-led government assuming power. The actor had described the country's Independence in 1947 as "bheek" (alms). Kangana was also recently awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award.

Addressing a meeting in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, Asaduddin Owaisi said, "A 'mohtarma' (woman) received our highest civilian award. In a TV interview, she says that the country got independencein 2014....Had a Muslim said this, UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) would have been slapped on him. They would have taken him to the police station before being jail and shot him in the leg and said, you are a traitor. But she is a queen and you're a king and you don't do anything. Why don't you do anything? If something like this had been said by one of us even unintentionally, if anyone wrote something unintentionally after an India-Pakistan match, they would brand us as traitors and send us to jail (sic)."

"I'm asking the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, did the country get Independence in 1947 or 2014? If this is wrong, will the PM and UP CM book (Kangana) under sedition? Is sedition only for Muslims? Who is it for? This is unconstitutional," he added.

Kangana's remarks made last week have drawn flak from various quarters. The Shiv Sena on Saturday demanded that actor Kangana Ranaut be stripped of all her national awards over her comments, which it said amounted to "treason". An editorial in Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamana' said the country will never tolerate such an insult to Independence which was attained through blood, sweat, tears and the sacrifice made by countless Indians. Many leaders of the Congress have also filed official complaints with the police, demanding that the actor be booked for sedition.

On Sunday, November 14,  Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind urging him to withdraw the Padma Shri bestowed on actor Kangana Ranaut for her remarks allegedly belittling the country's Independence. Maliwal, in her letter, said the actor had "made certain outrageous statements disgracing the great freedom fighters of the country".

"These statements reflect her hatred for our great freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and countless others who laid down their lives for the nation! We all know that our nation got its Independence from British rule through ultimate sacrifices and martyrdom of our great freedom fighters," she wrote.

With PTI inputs

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