MUMBAI: Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has hit back at yoga guru Baba Ramdev after he criticised her recent controversial remarks about Gen Z.The exchange unfolded on Instagram, where Kangana responded sharply to Ramdev, telling him not to “daydream” about her youth or private life.The clash stems from remarks Kangana made online regarding young protesters.According to news agency ANI, Kangana had earlier labelled certain young protesters at a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar as ‘generation gutter’.She later clarified that she was not making a blanket statement about the protest at Jantar Mantar over the NEET-UG paper leak and had “specifically referred to some people or some women”.The protest was led by the Cockroach Janata Party.“Those who call themselves cockroaches, and we say that cockroaches emerge from gutters, what is wrong with that? My point is simply this: if people label themselves as cockroaches, and we say the gutter is their home, why should they be offended? I certainly don’t consider myself a cockroach. If someone were to say I live in a gutter, I would deny it. But if someone claims to be a cockroach, then naturally, they would live in a gutter. Where else? But to claim that I was referring to all youth is simply not the case,” Kangana said.“If some young people use drugs, or if we discuss the current trend of addiction involving drugs, betting, gambling, or the dark web, addressing a specific segment of the youth doesn’t mean I was making a blanket statement about everyone. Did I say that all youth belong to the gutter? I specifically referred to some people or some women. So, how else should we address this?” she asked.Commenting on the controversy during a media interaction, Baba Ramdev criticised the actor-politician’s remarks.Kangana shared a screenshot of a news article quoting Baba Ramdev as saying, “What were her past deeds like, and what was her youth like?”Kangana responded to the yog guru writing, “Baba ji, don’t daydream about my jawor bedroom. One can only assume based on rumours and gossip. Atleast mujhe kabhi Supreme Court se fatkar nahi lagi for false/fraud efficacy claims based on hard facts, not some gossip or assumptions.”She added, “So don’t give me character lessons. Tumse toh bahut zayada behtar hai mera character, no fraud detected here.”Kangana’s reference to Ramdev and the Supreme Court relates to a 2024 case involving Patanjali’s misleading advertisements.In 2024, Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna tendered an unconditional apology to the Supreme Court via affidavit regarding Patanjali Ayurved’s misleading advertisements. They expressed sincere regret for breaching previous court undertakings, promised not to repeat the lapse, and assured the bench that no similar medicinal claims or disparaging statements against modern medicine would be issued in the future.(With agency inputs)
