Kangana Ranaut turns to Sonia Gandhi as Maharashtra orders probe in drug use claim

Mumbai: Maharashtra government on Friday asked the Mumbai police to probe drug use allegations against Kangana Ranaut, while the Bollywood actor turned her attention to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to say she must intervene and stop the harassment of women. The city police received a communication from the state home department to probe claims that Kangana used banned substances and narcotics drugs, a senior police official said. The crime branch will look into the matter, he added. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had said on Tuesday that the Mumbai police will probe allegations by actor Adhyayan Suman that Ranaut took drugs. Adhyayan, the son of actor Shekhar Suman, was once in a relationship with Ranaut and had made the allegation in an interview, Deshmukh had said. Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik had submitted a letter to the Home Department referring to the allegation in Adhyayan’s interview. Taking cognisance of the letter, the department asked the police to conduct an inquiry, the official said. Ranaut is locked in a public spat with the Shiv Sena, which heads the ruling coalition in the state, after her statement comparing Mumbai to “Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir” irked the ruling party in the state. Dragging Gandhi into the episode, Ranaut said history would judge the Congress leader’s “silence and indifference”. The Congress is an alliance partner in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, along with the Sena and NCP. “Dear respected honourable@INCIndiapresident Sonia Gandhi ji being a woman arn’t you anguished by the treatment I am given by your government in Maharashtra? Can you not request your Government to uphold the principles of the Constitution given to us by Dr. Ambedkar?” the actor tweeted. Ranaut, often in the news for her provocative statements, said Gandhi had grown up in the west and lived in India and must be aware of the struggles of women. History will judge your silence and indifference when your own Government is harassing women and ensuring a total mockery of law and order. I hope you will intervene@INCIndia, she added in another tweet. Ranaut’s office here faced action for “illegal” alterations by Shiv Sena-led Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday. The 33-year-old actor has been aggressively criticising the Maharashtra government on Twitter since she returned to the city from her home state Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, soon after the civic authorities demolished portions of her office. On Thursday, Ranaut took on the Maharashtra government by castigating Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for misusing power and declaring that her voice won’t be suppressed. The Queen actor, who has been given Y-plus category security, posted a series of tweets comparing the BMC to goons, terming the state government a milavat sarkar and recalling Marathi culture and pride. Later in the day, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale met Ranaut at her residence in Khar here and alleged that the demolition drive at her bungalow in Bandra was carried out in a sentiment of revenge and the Maharashtra government, too, had a role to play. Athawale on Friday met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, seeking “justice” and compensation for Ranaut. Athawale said he told the governor that Ranaut was served notice and the Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished the premises within 24 hours. Alleging that the BMC also broke furniture in Ranaut’s office during the demolition drive, he accused the civic body of misusing its powers. Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Kangana issue was blown out of proportion by Shiv Sena. “She is not a political leader. You don’t go to demolish the home of Dawood (Ibrahim) but you demolished her premises,” he said.