Kangana Ranaut denies reports that she eats beef, Himachal Congress posts old messages to counter her
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TNR Desk
Two days after facing the heat from Congress over an old statement of hers that “she consumed beef out of curiosity”, Bollywood actor and BJP candidate from Mandi constituency in Himachal Pradesh Kangana Ranaut has maintained that she “doesn’t eat cow meat”.
Actor clears stand on X
“I don’t consume beef or any other kind of red meat. It is shameful that completely baseless rumours are being spread about me.
I have been advocating and promoting yogic and Ayurvedic way of life for decades now. Such tactics won’t work to tarnish my image.
My people know me and they know that I am a proud Hindu and nothing can ever mislead them,” Kangana posted on X, ending her message with “Hail Lord Ram”.
Row first surfaced in 2019
The message was posted around 10.30 am and the Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress was quick to attack the actor on X by posting a statement that she gave in January 2019.
“The day I left my home (Mandi to pursue a career in the film industry), my mom said I want you to make only one promise ‘please don’t eat beef’.
Since then, I was eager to try it. So, I tried it,” the message read. She was also quoted as saying that she later adopted a completely vegetarian diet, and that she identified herself as a devout Hindu.
Tryst with controversies
Known for having tryst with controversies every now and then, the Congress is targeting Kangana over the four-year-old interview.
In Hinduism, eating cow meat is considered a sin. Vigilante Hindu groups have in recent years lynched several people for eating beef. The killings have taken place even on the suspicion of ferrying cows for slaughter.
The beef controversy was first raked up by a Congress leader in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, Vijay Wadettiwar, on Friday (April 5, 2024). He alleged that Kangana, who was now the BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha elections, had once said that “she liked and ate beef”.
He further drew a controversial analogy involving a self-styled godman serving a life sentence for rape, suggesting that “such individuals might also seek political candidacy based on their criminal history”.
Vikramaditya took it up in HP
Himachal PWD Minister and Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh, a frontrunner to take on Kangana in Mandi, was fast to cash in on the controversy. In a post on Facebook, he wrote: “Himachal, also known as Devbhoomi, is the land of deities.
It’s a matter of concern for us that people who have eaten cow meat are contesting elections from Himachal. It’s even against our culture and tradition.”
Vikramaditya’s mother Pratibha Singh is the sitting MP from Mandi and she was also a contender for the Congress ticket.
The Congress leaders are dredging up clips from Kangana’s old interviews to stir controversy, targeting the BJP for selecting her as their star campaigner and Mandi candidate.
The Congress has also launched a social media campaign against her, questioning whether people would support a candidate who had consumed beef.
