'Every Mata Is Respectable': Kangana Ranaut Appears Before Bathinda Court, Apologises Over Tweet Linked To Farmers’ Protest

Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut appeared before a Bathinda court on Monday in connection with a defamation case filed against her over a 2021 tweet made during the farmers’ protest. Ranaut told the court that the issue arose due to a “misunderstanding” and stated that she respects every woman and mother.

The Mandi MP had earlier requested to appear via video conference, but the court rejected her plea last September and directed her to be present in person. Ahead of her arrival, security was tightened in and around the court premises.

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The case was filed by 73-year-old Mahinder Kaur from Bahadurgarh Jandian village in Punjab’s Bathinda district. It pertains to Ranaut’s retweet and comment made in 2021, where the actor allegedly mistook Kaur for Bilkis Bano, the Shaheen Bagh activist who featured in Time magazine. The remarks were made when the farmers’ protest against the now-repealed farm laws was at its peak.

Wearing a saree and sunglasses, Ranaut reached the court complex around 2 PM. After the hearing, she told reporters that her intention was never to insult anyone. “Whatever misunderstanding happened with the family of Mahinder ji, I conveyed a message to ‘mata ji’ through her husband explaining that she was the victim of a misunderstanding,” she said.

Kaur was not present in court, but her husband attended the proceedings. Ranaut reiterated that she had not made any direct comments against an individual. “There was a retweet which was used as a meme. Many women were in that meme, and I made no remarks targeting anyone. Still, I regret the misunderstanding that followed,” she added.

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In her complaint filed in January 2021, Mahinder Kaur accused the actor of defaming her by wrongly identifying her as the “dadi” from Shaheen Bagh. She said the post contained false imputations that harmed her reputation and dignity. Kaur clarified that she had been part of the farmers’ protest since the beginning and had no connection with the woman from Shaheen Bagh.

Kangana Ranaut had earlier approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking to quash the case, but her plea was dismissed on August 1, with the court stating that the complaint was valid. Later, on September 12, the Supreme Court observed that Ranaut had “added spice” to the original post and asked her to withdraw her petition, which she subsequently did.