Himachal Pradesh Revenue Minister Jagat Negi fired a crass barb at Bharatiya Janata Party MP and actor Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday, declaring she had only visited flood-affected areas of the hill state after rains had subsided “because (otherwise) her make-up would have been ruined”.
Ms Ranaut is the BJP MP from Himachal’s Mandi.
“When everything became all right… she reached there. She did not want to come during the rains because her make-up would have been ruined. And then nobody would have known if it was Kangana or her mother,” Negi smirked in the state Assembly.
“She came, shed crocodile tears, and left,” he continued, as an MLA behind him laughed.
The BJP’s state unit has slammed the Congress leader, posting on X, “Look at the values of the Congress government’s minister Jagat Negi… he is insulting woman-power even inside the Assembly.”
कांग्रेस सरकार के मंत्री जगत नेगी के संस्कार देखिये…
विधानसभा सदन के भीतर भी नारीशक्ति का अपमान कर रहे हैं। pic.twitter.com/9tAzxZfY6O
— BJP Himachal Pradesh (@BJP4Himachal) September 3, 2024
This is not the first time Jagat Negi has taken crude pot shots at Ms Ranaut.
Last week he mocked the BJP leader over remarks about the farmers’ protest, for which she received a reprimand from her party’s senior leadership. Negi called for a police case against Ms Ranaut.
Negi’s sexist remarks today came after Ms Ranaut shared images of her visit to a flood-devastated region of her home state, where over 150 people have died in landslides and floods since late June.
The ruling Congress has red-flagged damage widespread damage, worth Rs 1,265 crore, to public infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, and residential and commercial properties.
READ | Crisis-Hit Himachal Chief Minister, Ministers Defer 2 Months’ Salaries
The state government, still recovering from last year’s floods and landslides, which caused an estimated Rs 10,000 crore of damage, said last week top leaders, beginning with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhi and his cabinet, would defer salaries and allowances for two months.
Ms Ranaut, a fierce supporter of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was a surprise pick by the party for the April-June general election. Her candidature had even been questioned by some within the party; senior leader Maheshwar Singh had called for a review of its decision.
READ | No Relief Yet For Kangana’s ‘Emergency’, She Claims Court Win
The outspoken actor, who finds herself roiled in court cases now over the release of her new film ‘Emergency’, has not yet commented on Jagat Negi’s snide remarks.
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