|
Himachal Pradesh Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi on Saturday accused the BJP of using controversial statements by its leaders, including Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut, to divert public attention from issues raised in a book written by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.
Reacting to the FIR registered against Ranaut over her social media remarks concerning the Gandhi family, Negi, while speaking with ANI in Shimla, said the BJP appeared to have run out of arguments to counter the issues and historical accounts discussed in the book and was therefore encouraging individuals to make controversial statements. "The book written by Sonia Gandhi has now come into the market, and the questions it has raised about the BJP have left the party without any convincing arguments. Instead of responding to the historical issues and facts discussed in the book, the BJP is resorting to criticism through people whose statements are neither logical nor taken seriously," Negi said. Referring to Ranaut's controversial social media posts, including the description of Sonia Gandhi as a "mysterious foreign woman", the minister said the language and nature of the remarks were unbecoming of a civilised person. "The kind of language, descriptions and remarks made in this recent controversy cannot be considered the arguments of a civilised person," he said. However, Negi said the legal consequences of the matter would become clear only after the police completed their investigation following the registration of the FIR. "Whatever legal action is required in the matter will depend on the investigation. Now that an FIR has been registered, it will be clear after the investigation what further action can be taken," he said. The minister alleged that the BJP had a pattern of promoting individuals who make controversial statements whenever the party faces political difficulties, with the objective of diverting public attention from substantive issues. "Whenever they find themselves in trouble, they bring out irrelevant and irrational statements to divert people's attention so that the real issues remain hidden. Their role in such situations has always been important, and that is why such people were brought into the party," Negi alleged. The FIR against Ranaut was registered by Shimla Police under Sections 196, 353 and 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, following a complaint submitted by Shimla resident Captain Atul Sharma to the Director General of Police, Himachal Pradesh, on November 12. The complaint concerns a series of posts published on November 10 from Ranaut's verified X account, accompanying an archival video featuring members of the Gandhi family. The complainant alleged that the posts contained objectionable insinuations concerning the deaths of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, as well as Sanjay Gandhi, and the subsequent political rise of Sonia Gandhi. The provisions invoked in the FIR relate to promoting enmity and acts prejudicial to communal harmony, statements and circulation of information that may cause public mischief, and defamation. (ANI)
|
