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Kangana Ranaut given Y-plus security

By The Assam Tribune - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, Sept 7 - Kangana Ranaut has been given Y-plus category security and will be protected by about 10 armed commandos, the Union Home Ministry announced on Monday, propelling the actor to the centre of a heated political row with Maharashtra�s ruling Shiv Sena and its coalition partners criticising the BJP-led Centre for the decision.

Ranaut, who had said she feared Mumbai Police after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and likened the Maharashtra capital to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah and declared that no one could crush a patriot.

The decision to provide 24x7 security comes two days before Ranaut, who is in her home state Himachal Pradesh, plans to visit Mumbai on September 9. Her comments, including those on drug use in the section of the film industry, led to a bitter row with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and many more joining in with their views.

She is the first Bollywood actor who will be guarded by CRPF commandos, an official privy to the development said. It is immediately not known whether she will have to pay the government for the security. Y-plus category central cover entails the deployment of about 10 armed commandos who will work in shifts around the clock.

Ranaut, a National Award winning actor often in the headlines for her provocative comments, went on Twitter to express gratitude for the security being provided to her. �This shows that no one can crush a patriot in the country. I am thankful to Home Minister Amit Shah,� she said.

The actor also took to Twitter to share videos of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials on her office premises in Mumbai and alleged that they may demolish the property on Tuesday. �They have forcefully taken over my office measuring everything, also harassing my neighbors,� she tweeted.

The lines between Bollywood and the world of politics blurring once again, the issue of the Centre providing security to the star led to the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress, the three parties that form the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, lashing out at the BJP.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh added that Ranaut's comments should be condemned by everybody and the state belongs to all, including the BJP.

�The Centre�s move to provide security to people who insult Mumbai and Maharashtra is surprising and also sad,� he said.

�By giving security to Kangana, the Centre and the BJP have endorsed her comments against Mumbai Police and Maharashtra. This is betrayal of the people of the state,� Maharashtra Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwarhe said. � PTI