New Delhi: BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut has triggered a fresh political controversy after making demeaning remarks about students and Gen Z protesters who participated in recent demonstrations at Jantar Mantar and other cities across the country.
Through a series of social media posts, Ranaut criticised the language used in protest placards, slogans and online reels shared by demonstrators, describing the content as deeply offensive and questioning the upbringing of those involved.
“Who is birthing and raising them? India is a place of diversely beautiful people, draped in elegance and rooted in cultural sophistication. You call yourself cockroaches and look/behave like them as well.”
“Never in my life have I seen so much ugliness in one place. These reels from Gen Z protests are puke-inducing. The way they speak and the kind of language they are using… Never in my life have I seen everything in each and every frame so jarring and so crass all at once. Ewwww.”
She also targeted protesters who identified themselves as "cockroaches," accusing them of bringing disgrace to India's cultural values and portraying the movement as crude and degrading.
Ranaut further directed harsh criticism at young women who took part in the protests, referring to them as "Generation Gutter" and alleging they lacked discipline, responsibility and meaningful contribution to society.
“There is no paradox or juxtaposition there, just simply subjecting the world to your filth, garbage and ugliness. I am scarred from these reels, need some healing, digital detox,” she wrote.
She added, “Sixty metric tonnes of waste thrown by CJP at Jantar Mantar after protest.”
Her remarks sparked strong political backlash. Congress leader Bhai Jagtap questioned Ranaut's silence over the alleged police assault on students during the protests, asking whether she had shown any empathy despite being a woman herself. AIMIM leader Waris Pathan also condemned the language used by the BJP MP and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take serious note of the remarks.
Ranaut has previously criticised street protests and movements aimed at mounting public pressure on governments through demonstrations.