Kangana Ranaut
Credit: PTI Photo
Kangana Ranaut, BJP's Lok Sabha poll candidate from Himachal's Mandi, shockingly called Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose the first Prime Minister of India.
The actor-turned-politician had attended a media event on March 27, shortly after joining the saffron party. Almost a week later, a clip of her interview went viral on social media where she indicated that Bose and not Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first PM of India.
"Pehle mujhe ye baat aaj clear karne dijiye. Jab hume azaadi mili toh the first Prime Minister of India, Subhash Chandra Bose, woh kahan gae? (Let me clear this first. When we gained independence, where did the first Prime Minister of India, Subhash Chandra Bose, go)", she said, adding, "He wasn't, but why? Where did he go? How was he made to disappear?"
Bollywood stars making gaffes when it comes to political figures is nothing new -- one only has to remember Alia Bhatt's hard-to-live-down fiasco on Koffee with Karan Season 4.
This is not the first time she has ruffled feathers with her statements. Earlier, Kangana had stated that India gained independence only after 2014 - when Narendra Modi came to power.
Kanagana's most recent comment drew reactions from many on social media, with one individual stating that if she were to become the education minister she might rewrite history. On that note, there have already been changes made to NCERT books, with references to Babri masjid demolition, Hindutva, and Gujarat riots being dropped.
According to a document detailing the changes prepared by the curriculum drafting committee of the NCERT, the references to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement have been tweaked "as per the latest development in politics".
Further changes in the text indicate that Aryans migrating to India did not lead to the decline of the Harappan civilisation.