New Delhi: Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut’s posts terming Gen Z “gutter generation” and asking “who is birthing them” have landed her in the middle of an escalating row with opposition leaders and social media users criticising her choice of words and thought.
Controversy’s favourite child was back in controversy on Tuesday with a series of provocative posts on Instagram against the Cockroach Janta Party-led protests over the NEET paper leak that started in Jantar Mantar and spread to other cities.
“Never in my life I have seen so much ugliness in one place, these reels from GenZ protests are puke-inducing- the way they speak and the kind of language they are using, never in my life I have seen everything in each and every frame so jarring and so crass all at ones, ewwww who is birthing and raising them?” Ranaut said.
Young women participating in protest ‘most appalling’
In a follow-up post, the BJP MP from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi went a step further and criticised young women who participated in the protests, saying their behaviour during the agitation was “most appalling”.
“Women who are truly independent they make rebellious choices, bold opinions, unconventional career moves and they take accountability for their actions. They have to cos they are on their own. They don’t do this at the cost of their parents or families.
‘So ugly and corrupt, they can’t be homemakers’
“Here is a new generation of so called westernised Indian women. I call them Generation gutter,” she said, adding that some of the women protestors were “so ugly and corrupt that they can’t be homemakers either.”
The actor, who has won multiple National Film Awards for her performances in movies such as “Fashion,” “Tanu Weds Manu” and “Queen,” defended those who have confronted protesters over their social media content, saying criticism and backlash were inevitable consequences of their actions.
Asked about her posts by reporters at the Parliament complex on Tuesday, Ranaut stood by her remarks, saying the protesters had abused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother.
“Our prime minister is 75 years old and his mother has passed away, how you use such abusive language against them? We have also held protests but we were embarrassed to be shown on camera… What kind of students are they? They are using such filthy language, from which angle do they look like students?” she said.
Gen Z has done far more for this country than you have: CJP
When asked about Ranaut’s comments, Cockroach Janta Party chief spokesperson Saurav Das said CJP did more for the country than she has. He said that her own party does not take her seriously, and neither does the younger generation, including Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
“Look, even people within Kangana Ranaut’s own party don’t pay much attention to her or take her seriously, so why should we? I don’t think anyone in Gen Z, Gen Alpha, or any younger generation takes her seriously or listens to what she says,” Das said.
Emphasising that Ranaut is a politician, Das said her choice of words was inappropriate, adding that she should keep in mind that Gen Z worked to restore faith in India’s democracy — something she hasn’t done.
“Gen Z has done far more for this country than you have, and they continue to do so. Gen Z has worked to restore faith in the nation’s democracy- something you haven’t done. So, you should definitely keep that in mind,” he said.
“She is a politician now. There were videos of her visiting her constituency in Himachal where she said she thought being an MP involved very little work, but it turned out to require a lot of effort. That shows her level of seriousness. She calls us an ‘unserious generation’, yet she exposed her own lack of seriousness,” Das added.
Opposition condemns Ranaut’s abusive language
Opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and AIMIM, condemned the actor for her tirade that comes after the 36-day agitation ended on July 25 with the government accepted the protesters’ key demands, including the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister.
Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi told reporters, “I think its reply will be given to her by the country’s Gen Z…”
Congress leaders Renuka Chowdhury told India Today TV channel, “It is unfortunate that a woman writes such things for getting praise from the government. When as an MP, you write such things, then I can only say that they are learning all this from you only. I think she will have to face consequences soon enough.”
SP MP Dimple Yadav said Ranaut’s comments were “insensitive”.
“Sadly, such a statement has been made by a Member of Parliament who comes from the film industry and has done very good work. We condemn such an insensitive statement,” she told reporters.
AIMIM leader Waris Pathan said Ranaut should apologise to Gen Z.
“What she said is completely wrong. How can you speak like that? They held a protest entirely within the framework of the Constitution. Even the Supreme Court has said that protesting is their right.
“There was anger in their hearts. What does she know about NEET? If you ask her what NEET even stands for, she probably wouldn’t know its full form. Which examination has she ever taken? This anger came from the students,” he said.
Online users criticise actor
Internet users also slammed the actor-politician for the remarks.
One social media user referred to Ranaut’s past statements about Shaheen Bagh protests and actor Urmila Matondkar to point out that she had used derogatory language in the past.
“Kangana Ranaut posted this story, criticizing the language used in student protests. This is the same person who branded Urmila Matondkar a ‘soft porn star’ and mocked elderly women at the Farmers’ and Shaheen Bagh protests by claiming they were available to join for 100,” the user said.
Another X user called her a hypocrite.
“For someone who talks a whole lot of nothing and picks a non issue every other month to bully others… She sure has a lot of opinions on young students taking a stand for their own rights. The kind of language BJP/RSS use on the daily… I think she’d find the Gen Z’s terminology very tame as opposed to the party she belongs to,” the person posted.
A user said Ranaut’s comments were “weapons-grade cringe”.
“How do you go from being a woman in power to using your platform to spew bitter 14 yr old incel level toxicity at women online? Bricks for brains, honestly,” she said.
