A spokesperson of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) filed a complaint against Kangana Ranaut, the controversial Hindi actor, for “hate propaganda to incite communal violence” in West Bengal on Thursday.
Based on several “offensive” posts that Ranaut has been posting on her verified Instagram account in the ‘story’ section, Riju Dutta filed an FIR against her.
“She has also maligned the image of the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal- Smt. Mamata Banerjee,” The FIR stated and sought strict action against the actor.
Ranaut reacted to Dutta’s FIR through an Instagram story and wrote: “Blood thirsty Monster Mamta trying to silence me with her power.”
“Centre failed to take any action for mass murder of Hindus lakhs and lakhs of them ran away from Bengal but Mamta Sena is taking action against me for asking her to stop the blood bath… why is so called Right wing is so weak in this country? Koi aukat hai inki ya nahi?” read another story.
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This is the second complaint filed against Ranaut in West Bengal after the TMC, led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, won the state legislative Assembly poll with a historic margin of votes. On May 3, Kolkata-based advocate Sumeet Chowdhury filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, against Ranaut for instigating “hatred” among communities based on three tweets.
The BJP had been trying hard to wrest control from the TMC in the state since its impressive performance in the state in the 2019 General Assembly polls. Ranaut, who is a vocal supporter of the BJP, had been posting offensive remarks Banerjee since she was declared the winner on May 2. On May 4, Twitter permanently suspended Ranaut’s account following her tweets on the aftermath of the West Bengal legislative Assembly elections.
Following the series of FIRs and suspension of her Twitter account, Ranaut resorted to her Instagram account to claim that the TMC was “spreading hatred” and “inciting communal violence”.
The TMC won for the third consecutive time by a resounding majority of 213 seats compared to BJP’s 77 seats in West Bengal. Elections were being bitterly fought in the state with the saffron party vying to wrest control from Banerjee. After the TMC’s success, there were several reports of political violence across the state. The BJP alleged that Trinamool Congress workers had been assaulting their party workers and vandalising party offices. However, some of the incidents of political violence have been declared as fake news by the West Bengal Police.
In a series of tweets before her account was suspended, Ranaut tweeted her reaction to the violence urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to implement Governor’s Rule or emergency in Bengal and “tame” Banerjee.
Meanwhile, Ranaut tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday and termed it a “small time flu which got too much press”.