Kangana Ranaut wants 3 farm laws to return, Congress says ‘won’t let it happen’

BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has once again stoked a controversy by saying that the three controversial farm laws, which were repealed after a prolonged protest by farmer groups, should be brought back by the government.

Speaking to reporters in her constituency Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, the actor-turned-politician said, “I know this statement could be controversial but the three farm laws should be brought back. The farmers should themselves demand it.” Kangana Ranaut argued that the three laws were beneficial for the farmers but were repealed by the government due to protests by farmer groups in some states.

“Farmers are a pillar of strength in the nation’s development. I want to appeal to them to demand the laws back for their own good,” she said. The Congress sharply reacted to Ranaut’s remark, saying the party would never let it happen.

“More than 750 farmers were martyred while opposing the three black anti-farmer laws. Efforts are being made to bring them back again. We will never let this happen,” said Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate.

“Haryana will be the first to answer,” she added, pointing at the upcoming Haryana Assembly election. AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang said, “I feel sorry for PM Modi. He said that he was unable to understand farmers’ concerns and he is taking back (farmers’) laws… It seems like either Kangana is challenging PM Modi or PM Modi has become helpless, only BJP can tell.”

Kangana Ranaut has been at odds with the farmer groups over her remarks on their over-a year-long agitation against the three farm laws. Recently, Kangana Ranaut said that the farmer protests were a build up to a “Bangladesh-like situation in India”, and claimed that dead bodies were found hanging and rapes were taking place at the sites of agitation.

Her remarks led to widespread protests, which forced the BJP to distance itself from her statements. In 2020, Kangana Ranaut called the protests politically motivated and even got into a public spat with Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh over the issue.

The three farm laws, enacted in 2020, aimed to deregulate agricultural markets by allowing farmers to sell produce outside government-regulated mandis, enter contracts with buyers, and remove stockpiling limits on essential commodities. The government argued that these laws would increase farmers’ incomes by giving them more freedom.

However, many farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, feared these reforms would lead to corporate exploitation and the dismantling of minimum support prices (MSP). After over a year of protests on the borders of Delhi, the laws were repealed in November 2021. The government cited a failure to build consensus with the farmers as the primary reason for the repeal.