Congress asks BJP to explain Ranaut comments on protests

A senior Congress leader has demanded that the Bharatiya Janata Party clarify its stance on controversial remarks made by its Member of Parliament, Kangana Ranaut, about young women involved in student protests. The call for accountability came on July 29, 2026, as Ranaut faced a wave of criticism from political and public figures for comments described as derogatory and insulting.

Congress spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Rathore, speaking at a press conference in Shimla, accused Ranaut of questioning the dignity, character, and future of female students, particularly referencing recent protests at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He stated that such remarks had deeply hurt students, their parents, and had tarnished the image of Himachal Pradesh, which Ranaut represents as MP for Mandi. Rathore directly challenged the BJP's national leadership to state whether Ranaut was authorized to make the statements and to take disciplinary action if she was not.

The controversy stems from remarks Ranaut made on Instagram, where she reportedly used terms like "generation gutter" to describe some Gen Z protesters and criticized the behavior of young women she characterized as "westernised." She...