Kangana Ranaut Responds to ‘No Cabinet’ Remark Criticism in Flood-Hit Himachal

Kangana Ranaut, an actor-turned-politician, doubled down on her controversial remarks while in flood-hit Himachal Pradesh on Monday, stating she has no money and no cabinet: “This is not my job.”

Kangana, who is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP for Mandi Lok Sabha, was blasted by the opposition on Sunday after she said she has no cabinet or money to rebuild the places wrecked by the flooding. The MP's remarks also drew criticism recently from the ruling Congress in Himachal.

In defence of the criticism from Congress, Kangana stated that she does not need advice "from people who are not accountable."

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"Those who have failed in their duties and completely let down the people of Himachal Pradesh have no right to preach to me. The people here are already disappointed with them. I don’t need lessons from those who hold no accountability," Kangana told news agency PTI.

The BJP MP also clarified on her Sunday statements, saying, “I had talked about accountability when the reporters asked when you are building Himachal back. So, I said I don't have the agencies or the cabinet. This is not my assignment.”

She also slammed the Congress government in Himachal for not doing its job.

"Initially, they (Congress government) were crying that Kangana didn't reach here. There are 17 assembly constituencies under me. This is not my official residence...If they (Congress) will try to cash in on my name, then I am afraid that my name will become very popular here," she added.

Kangana's comments came a day after the MP stated that her work is "limited to the parliament" and she does not hold any cabinet.

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"Whether it's disaster relief or the disaster itself – I don't have any official cabinet. I have my two brothers who are always with me. That's my cabinet. So, it's just these two. I do not have any funds for disaster relief or hold any Cabinet post. MPs have work that is limited to Parliament. We are very small in the scheme of things,” Ranaut had told reporters.

The Congress party had lashed out at the MP for stating that there is no cabinet or money, calling her comments "insensitive" and "mocking" the pain of the victims.

Himachal Pradesh is experiencing a particularly intense spell of rain with 30 people have gone missing after cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides in Thunag, Gohar and Karsog subdivisions of Mandi district. The IMD has issued a warning for impending rain in the next few days while issued an alert for landslides and possible cloudbursts.

Himachal has recorded 78 deaths since the monsoon started last month, with 50 of them related to rain caused incidents such as cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides, reports PTI.

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