Mandi Member of Parliament Kangana Ranaut’s recent ‘irresponsible statements’ after her visit to flash flood-affected areas of Thunag in the Seraj Assembly constituency of Mandi district, which is part of the Mandi parliament constituency, are only annoying the public but also proving embarrassing for the BJP leadership.
Mandi MP was reportedly in Mumbai when flash floods wreaked havoc in several areas of Himachal, including the Seraj Assembly constituency in Mandi district, where 15 persons have died, 28 are still missing, hundreds of houses have been destroyed, a large number of roads and bridges were destroyed, leaving hundreds of people without shelter and connectivity, and people are in desperate need of food, shelter and basic things.
Kangana Ranaut only rushed to flood-affected areas when former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who represents the Seraj Assembly constituency and was busy in relief operations in the area, was questioned about the absence of Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut during the crisis.
Visibly upset, Thakur had said, “I do not want to comment about people who are indifferent to people’s miseries.”
In her reply, “Ranaut had blamed the latter for advising her not to visit the area as the situation was bad.”
Instead of giving an assurance to affected people, after visiting the areas and talking to a TV channel, she jokingly said, “People expect me to be with them during the disaster, but my problem is I am an MP and do not have funds to provide for rehabilitation; I don’t have a Cabinet – my two brothers accompanying me are my only cabinet.”
Jai Ram Thakur, standing beside her, was left red-faced and quite upset as people questioned, “Has she come to help in providing succour or pressing her case for her inclusion in the Union Cabinet?”
Her statement for not having funds for helping in the relief work was also surprising since every MP gets a grant of Rs 5 crore for development in the parliamentary constituency, and funds can be allotted for relief and rehabilitation works during a crisis.”
Annoyed with the MP’s indifference, many women during her visit to the affected area had remarked, “She has only come to get clicked for photographs.”
In an interview on a podcast, the MP had said, “I am not enjoying my political career as an MP since people come to me with problems like broken roads and nalis, not knowing that this is not the work of an MP.”
Kangana Ranaut was elected Mandi MP in the 2024 General Elections on the BJP ticket, defeating PWD Minister Virkamaditya Singh, son of former six-time CM Virbhadra Singh, by nearly 80,000 votes.
Mandi parliamentary constituency is one of the prestigious constituencies of India, with stalwarts like Rani Amrit Kaur (the first health minister in independent India), Virbhadra Singh (former CM and union minister), and former union communication minister Sukh Ram, among others, elecetd from as MPs.
