'Madness or treason': Varun Gandhi slams Kangana Ranaut over ‘India got freedom in 2014’ remark

New Delhi: BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who is apparently sidelined and disenchanted with his own party for quite some time, took a swipe at Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut for her reported remarks that “India received freedom in 2014 and what it got in 1947 was "alms".

The Pilibhit BJP MP on Thursday asked the renowned actress to clarify if her thinking was “madness or treason.”

The Gandhi scion also posted on Twitter a short clip of her remarks during a private TV news channel's event in which she can be heard saying in Hindi, "That was not freedom but 'bheekh' (alms), and the freedom came in 2014."

Kangana Ranaut, who was recently conferred with Padma Shri Award, was apparently referring to the Narendra Modi and Amit Shah-powered BJP coming to power in 2014.

She had sparked controversy in the past with her right-wing comments and regular jibes at opposition politicians.

Slamming her, Varun Gandhi said, "Insulting the sacrifice of Mahatma Gandhi sometimes, respecting his killer sometimes, and now the disdain for the sacrifices of Mangal Pandey, Rani Laxmibai, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and lakhs of freedom fighters. Should I call this thinking madness or treason?" 

Ranaut, who was presented with the Padma Shri two weeks after she picked up her fourth best actress National Film Award, expressed her gratitude for receiving the honour "for being a model citizen" of India.

"As an artist, I have received many awards, love and acknowledgement but today I have received an award for being a model citizen of this country. I'm grateful," she said in a video posted on her official Instagram page.

"When I started working at a young age, I didn't achieve success until 8-10 years into my career. I didn't enjoy my success. I turned down offers to endorse fairness products, boycotted item numbers, rejected working in big hero films and with big production houses," Ranaut added.

The actor-producer, who is known for her provocative statements, said receiving "this honour will shut the mouths of many people" who often ask her why she concerns herself with matters of national importance.

"I made more enemies than money. When I became more aware of national matters, I raised my voice against any power that threatens the country..." she said, adding she had lost count of how many legal cases she is currently embroiled in.