Amid the escalating political row over the arrest of 22-year-old regulation pupil and influencer Sharmistha Panoli, actor-politician Kangana Ranaut has strongly criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal authorities. Urging Panoli’s rapid launch, Ranaut condemned her arrest as an act of political overreach.
“Harassing somebody within the identify of regulation and order will not be good. When somebody has apologised and deleted the submit, however placing her in jail, torturing her, ending her profession and elevating questions on her character could be very mistaken,” Ranaut instructed reporters.
In a pointed comparability, Ranaut stated, “I urge the West Bengal authorities to not attempt to make the state into North Korea. Everybody has democratic rights. She has apologised for her indecent remarks. She had stated every part typically and as we speak’s technology makes use of such language very normally- each in English and in Hindi.”
Ranaut additionally urged for her early launch saying “she is a really younger girl” who has her entire profession and life forward of her.
Panoli was arrested by Kolkata Police on Friday for a now-deleted social media video, through which she allegedly made communal remarks whereas criticising Bollywood celebrities’ silence over ‘Operation Sindoor’. The submit triggered widespread backlash on-line, forcing Panoli to delete it and difficulty a public apology.
NDA ally and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan additionally condemned the influencer’s arrest. In a submit on X (previously Twitter), he questioned the selective outrage and accused the West Bengal authorities of hypocrisy.
Kalyan wrote a submit on X condemning her arrest saying, “secularism should be a two-way road, not a defend for some and a sword for others.”
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BJP’s Bengal Chief of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari echoed comparable sentiments. “When TMC MP Mahua Moitra made disgraceful remarks towards Goddess Kali, was any motion taken? Even after 200 FIRs? Sayani Ghosh posted about Maha Dev, and there have been no penalties,” Adhikari alleged.
Panoli has been remanded to judicial custody till June 13. Her arrest has sparked fierce debate about freedom of expression, selective regulation enforcement, and communal politics. Whereas social media platforms had been flooded with requires justice, Panoli additionally confronted a wave of threats and trolling, prompting her to take away the submit and publicly apologise.