"Politically Motivated": BJP As Kangana Ranaut Faces FIR In Himachal, Congress Responds

Shimla: A police case registered against BJP MP Kangana Ranaut in Shimla over her remarks targeting Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has triggered a fresh political confrontation in Himachal Pradesh, with the actor-politician's party calling it a "politically motivated" move.The Shimla Police on Friday charged Ranaut, the Lok Sabha MP from Himachal's Mandi, under charges of promoting enmity, hatred, or disharmony, public mischief and defamation over a social media post on the Gandhi family. The case was registered after a complaint alleged that Ranaut's November 10 post contained inflammatory insinuations regarding the deaths of former prime minister Indira Gandhi and her sons Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.READ | 'Should Be Called Whitewashing, Not Belonging': BJP On Sonia Gandhi's BookBJP's Jairam Thakur accused the Congress government in Himachal of cracking down on detractors over their social media posts.The former Himachal chief minister said that Ranaut's remarks were her personal opinion and in a democracy, every individual has the right to express their own views.Thakur, the Leader of Opposition in the Himachal assembly, called the FIR an act of political vendetta by the Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government, and called the Congress intolerant of social media criticism.Jairam Thakur and Kangana Ranaut during 2024 Lok Sabha electionsPhoto Credit: ANI"The people who are taking care of the social media handles of the state Congress put out ... such posts against senior BJP leaders which are so objectionable that they cannot be read or seen, and an FIR should also be registered against them, but despite several requests, no cases are registered against them," he said.Congress Defends Kangana Ranaut FIRCongress' Jagat Singh Negi defended the FIR, saying action against false and defamatory allegations is justified.He also accused the BJP of making baseless allegations against Sonia Gandhi.The minister claimed that the BJP was uncomfortable with the contents of Sonia Gandhi's memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', which released on Tuesday, because it had no answers to the issues raised in it.Jagat Singh NegiPhoto Credit: facebook/jagatsinghnegimlaHe alleged that instead of responding to its contents, BJP leaders had resorted to what he described as low-level and misleading statements.Negi argued that making false and factually incorrect allegations to damage someone's public image cannot be justified, and said if remarks made on social media are defamatory or unsupported by facts, legal action is warranted.Questioning the BJP's charge of political vendetta, he said allegations against an individual and their family, particularly those who have contributed to the country, must be backed by evidence. He maintained that anyone making such claims should also be prepared to substantiate them.What Complaint Against Kangana Ranaut SaidAccording to the complaint, one of the posts from Ranaut's handle referred to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi as a "mysterious foreign national" and suggested that her relatives were killed one after another, eventually paving the way for her to become the head of government.The post ended with the remark, "How convenient."Even in the end of the clip every one leaves but Maneka stays looking at Mrs Gandhi like a wounded little child seeking some comfort may be a little smile or a gaze in her direction, she stays hoping for one sign but nothing comes only coldness and slowly she disappears like she is there but doesn't exist. Heartbreaking! On the other hand every one seems to be wrapped around little finger of a mysterious foreign national who bumped in to older son Rajeev Gandhi in a cafe abroad and ever since became inseparable, younger son Sanjay was being formally trained by Mrs Gandhi but he dies mysteriously and his vulnerable young window Maneka was thrown out of his house for random reasons and shortly after that the mother in law and husband were also killed one after the other. Leaving mysterious foreigner Sonia Gandhi as the head of government, wow!! How convenient!!— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) November 10, 2026Ranaut also claimed that Sanjay Gandhi's wife, Maneka Gandhi, was abruptly expelled from the family residence following his death.READ | In Memoir, Sonia Gandhi Describes Fallout With "Choti Bahu" ManekaThe complainant, Atul Sharma, a resident of Shimla, said that this "calculated narrative crosses the line from political dissent into dangerous territory capable of inciting public hostility and disturbing public tranquility".He alleged that the posts constituted "public mischief by circulating false information with the intent to cause fear or alarm, and could promote enmity between different groups and act prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony, and contain imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration".