Congress challenges Ranaut’s ‘foolish’ remark against HP govt, Sonia Gandhi

Shimla: Even as her latest film ‘Emergency’ has already run into trouble with the censor board, actress and Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut has kicked off a new controversy in Himachal Pradesh accusing the Congress government of “illegally transferring funds” meant for disaster relief to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

This comes after the Himachal government deferred the payment of salaries and allowances to all Cabinet ministers for two months and also delayed disbursement of the salaries and pensions to the government employees and pensioners, respectively.

Ranaut reacted to the situation by alleging that Himachal has ‘empty’ coffers. “The Congress government takes loans which it then gives to Sonia Gandhi,” she had said on Sunday.

State’s public works minister Vikramaditya Singh, who unsuccessfully contested against Ranaut in Mandi in the Parliamentary elections, warned her to either withdraw the accusations against the state government or face defamation.

“If she does not retract her statement, we will sue her for defamation. On what basis did she make such a statement? It is extremely unfortunate (that) she made a statement against a leader of Sonia Gandhi’s stature,” said the young Cabinet minister. The minister added: “There cannot be a (more) foolish statement than saying ‘funds coming from the Centre, or the state’s funds for development, are being given to Sonia Gandhi.”

He dared Ranaut to show proof of even Rs 1 being diverted. “She should tender an apology to Sonia Gandhi for such baseless allegations,” he said.

Singh reminded that she had been making statements which show her “intellectual bankruptcy” and recently had gone beyond the party’s brief to speak about farmers’ protests and later was reprimanded by the party leadership.