Kangana Ranaut had purchased the bungalow in 2017 and had renovated it in January this year.
On Tuesday, the BMC had issued a notice under section 354(A) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act, directing the actor to stop the ongoing work on the premises and produce the permissions for the “illegal” constructions. She was given 24 hours to file a reply with documentary evidence. The civic body had also filed a 'caveat' in a local court, saying it should be heard first if Ranaut challenges a stop-work notice issued to her.
As per the notice, the ongoing renovation and finishing work inside the bungalow was “beyond the approved plan”. Some of the illegal constructions mentioned in the notice include the conversion of a toilet on ground floor into an office space, construction of a kitchen inside a storeroom and new toilets near a storeroom, conversion of a balcony into a habitable area, merger of one bungalow with another, and extension of the third floor
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had accorded Y+ category security to Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut after she expressed threat to her life as she spoke about drug use among a section in the film industry, following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Thursday met Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, who has been at the centre of a controversy over her remarks on Mumbai and its police, and said she need not be afraid while in the city. Athawale, a BJP ally, made it clear he does not agree with the remarks made by Ranaut, who had likened Mumbai to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and criticised the city police. Athawale alleged that the Shiv Sena-controlled BMC's demolition drive at her bungalow in suburban Bandra was carried out a sentiment of revenge and added the Maharashtra government, too, had a role in it. The minister said Ranaut had spoken the truth in connection with the death case of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. He said the CBI, which is probing the death case, should arrive at a conclusion whether Rajput committed suicide or was murdered.
Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut has said the building she lives in here belongs to Sharad Pawar with some reports suggesting she was referring to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief.
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Pawar, however, on Thursday refuted the claim, saying there is no substance in what the actress said. (PTI)
The Himachal Pradesh Commission for Women on Thursday wrote to the national women's panel, urging it to take up the issue of actor Kangana Ranaut's harassment with appropriate authorities. The Shiv Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had demolished "illegal alterations" at the Bandra bungalow of the 33-year-old actor.
Writing to the National Commission for Women (NCW), state body Member Secretary Sandeep Negi said they have taken suo motu cognisance of media reports about the incidents of harassment of Ranaut at the hands of officials from the BMC, Mumbai Police and political leaders. As this is a well-known fact that Kangana Ranaut hails from Himachal Pradesh, this commission intends to take up the issue with your office for taking up the matter with appropriate authorities, the Himachal panel said. A copy of the letter has also been sent to the member secretary of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women. (PTI)
Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Thursday met Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, who has been at the centre of a controversy over her remarks on Mumbai and its police, and whose bungalow here faced BMC action for 'illegal' alterations. Athawale, a BJP ally, met Ranaut at her residence in suburban Khar. Athawale's party RPI (A) had come out in support of the actress and offered her security at the Mumbai airport when she returned to the city on Wednesday amid sloganeering against her by Shiv Sena workers.
Top Hindi actress Kangana Ranaut's face off with the Maharashtra government has come in for praise from popular Tamil actor Vishal who compared her action to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and lauded her for staying strong despite the "wrath" of the Government. The 'Queen' star taking on the (Maharashtra) government will "set an example" for people to speak against the government when something goes wrong, he said in a Twitter statement, tagging Ranaut's handle on the micro-blogging site.
"Dear Kangana, hats off to your guts, you have never thought twice to voice out what is right and what is wrong. It wasn't your personal issue, but even then facing the wrath of the government, you stayed strong which makes it a very big example," the actor-producer said.
"It's something similar to what Bhagat Singh did in 1920s," he added.
A day after Mumbai's civic authorities demolished portions of her office, actor Kangana Ranaut on Thursday again took on the Maharashtra government by castigating Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for "misusing power" and declaring that her voice won't be suppressed.
"The ideology on which Shri Bala Saheb Thackeray built Shiv Sena, today they have sold the ideology for power, becoming Sonia Sena from Shiv Sena. The goons who broke my house behind my back, do not call them a civic body. Don't insult the constitution."
Ranaut described Thackeray as a prime example of nepotism who is misusing power to suppress her voice. "Your father's good deeds can give you wealth, but you have to earn respect, you will shut my mouth, but my voice will echo in a hundred millions after me, how many mouths will you shut?"
"How many voices will you suppress? Till when you will run away from the truth, you are nothing but an example of dynasty," the 33-year-old actor wrote on Twitter.
Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari has expressed displeasure over the handling of the Kangana Ranaut episode and the manner in which the Mumbai civic body razed "illegal alterations" at her bungalow, sources close to him said on Thursday.
The governor summoned Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's principal advisor Ajoy Mehta on Wednesday, when the demolition was carried out, and conveyed his displeasure over the entire matter, the sources said.
"He (Mehta) was summoned by the governor and the displeasure was conveyed to him," they added. (PTI)
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that Kangana Ranaut "episode" is now over for his party. He made the remark after meeting Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray here.
"The Kangana Ranaut episode is over. We have even forgotten it. We are busy with our daily, government and social work now," PTI quoted him as saying. He said he met the chief minister to discuss some party-related programmes.
Amid some media reports, which claimed that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar have expressed displeasure over the episode, the Sena MP said it was "wrong information". "Be it Pawar saheb or Sonia ji, nobody has made a statement expressing displeasure," Raut added.
Actor Kangana Ranaut arrives at her office in Mumbai, where demolition work was carried out by BMC on Wednesday.
In its reply to Kangana's plea challenging the demolition of her office, the BMC today told the Bombay High Court that the records showed the actor had been carrying out substantial alterations in her Bandra property 'contrary to the sanctioned plan' and its action of demolition was justified and was without any 'malafide'.
The Bombay High Court Thursday adjourned Kangana Ranaut’s office demolition matter till September 22 after the actor’s lawyer sought time to respond to the affidavit filed by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The BMC today filed a reply to the plea filed by Kangana challenging the civic body’s partial demolition of her Pali Hill office.
The Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association (IMPPA) has condemned the demolition of Kangana Ranaut's office by the BMC, saying that the action was in poor light.
IMPPA president TP Aggarwal said the action was neither "good for the government" nor for the "Queen" star. "The action taken by the Maharashtra government or BMC is absolutely wrong and should be condemned," Aggarwal said in a statement.
"It never happens that you demolish a property on such short notice of one day... If Kangana's house is wrongly constructed demolish it. But, why only Kangana?"
"There are unauthorised constructions throughout Mumbai. Break them as well. BMC should also abide by the law while doing anything," he added.
However, the IMPPA head also criticised the actor for the comments about drug abuse and nepotistic culture in the industry following the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. (PTI)
"A lot of my Marathi friends cried over the phone yesterday. A lot of them gave me moral support. Some others also sent me food but I couldn't accept them due to security reasons. The actions of the state government should not hurt the pride of the Maharashtrians. Jai Maharashtra," she tweeted.
Taking to Twitter, Ranaut today said: I want to be clear that the people of Maharashtra do not like the actions of the state government. A lot of Marathi well wishers as those from Himachal Pradesh as well as from across the globe have called me. Do not think that I am not loved and respected."
Mumbai police have made security arrangements outside Ranaut's residence in suburban Khar and her bungalow-cum-office in Bandra, an official said on Thursday. Ranaut returned to Mumbai from her home state Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, hours after the BMC demolished "illegal alterations" at her Bandra bungalow. "A police van with officials has been deployed outside her residence in Khar to tackle with any untoward incident. Women constables are also a part of the team," the official was quoted as saying by PTI. "Besides, outside her Pali Hill bungalow, which was partially demolished by the civic body yesterday, similar security arrangements have been made," he said. According to sources, the actress likely to visit her her Pali Hill property on Thursday.
While BMC on Wednesday demolished unauthorised constructions at Kangana Ranaut’s office premises in Bandra’s Pali Hill within 24 hours of issuing a stop work notice to the actor, it had taken action in only 10.47 per cent of the complaints of illegal constructions it had received from 2016 to 2019. According to data received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, between January 2016 to July 2019, BMC has received over 94,000 complaints regarding illegal constructions. However, it has taken action in only over 5,400 cases. Activist Shakeel Shaikh had filed an RTI appeal in 2019 seeking information on complaints received by BMC regarding illegal construction and what action had been taken on them. The RTI reply shows that between January 2016 and July 2019, RETMS had received 94,851 complaints on illegal construction. Among them, 42,697 complaints were related to similar cases. Of the remaining 52,124 complaints received, BMC took action on 5,462 – in only 10.47 per cent cases, demolition work was undertaken.
The party mouthpiece further said though the Shiv Sena has taken a “different route”, it would never tolerate “disrespect” towards Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. “(Narendra) Modi is not just a person but an institution in the form of prime minister. The same is for the states CMs and regional identities,” it added. It also said comparing Mumbai to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and insulting the Mumbai Police by calling it mafia are signs of a “disturbed” mindset. “But when the nationalist (Narendra) Modi government’s home ministry provides security cover to such people, then our 106 martyrs (who had died in the movement of Samyukta Maharashtra with Mumbai) must be shedding tears in heaven,” the editorial stated.
Criticising the Centre’s decision to provide Y-plus security to actor Kangana Ranaut, the Shiv Sena, in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, alleged there was a conspiracy “to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra” by defaming and damaging Mumbai and weakening its economy. The editorial also urged the state to unite against those using “disrespectful” language about the Maharashtra chief minister. “While Maharashtra is angry (about this), the BJP has directly supported people who have insulted Mumbai and Maharashtra’s CM,” the editorial stated. “There is a danger to Mumbai from those, in Delhi and the state legislature, who love Mumbai being insulted. It is clear that steps are going in (the) direction of conspiring to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra by defaming and damaging Mumbai and weakening its economy. The Centre and BJP in Maharashtra do not miss a single opportunity to attack the powers and independence of the democratic government in Maharashtra,” the editorial further stated.
Former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam did not mince words. “Sitting in Government you cannot do such things. It is sending a very wrong message. She (Ranaut) may be in contact with the BJP, she may be doing all this at the instance of the BJP, but why are you, a political party and that, too, a ruling party falling into such a trap? I cannot remain silent. It looks cheap.” “Appalled as a Mumbaikar with the state of affairs in the economic capital of India. Maharashtra is Covid-19’s ground zero. Instead of focusing on governance, we’re busy settling political scores. Time for all parties to come together and set our priorities right,” tweeted Milind Deora, another former Mumbai Congress president.
Late in the evening, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Pawar and Raut had a meeting. Sources said they discussed the government’s strategy on the Maratha reservation issue after the apex court stayed its implementation but, clearly, Pawar’s disquiet found an echo in a section of the Congress, too.
The Shiv Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s demolition drive at Kangana Ranaut’s Mumbai office may have been put on hold by the High Court but it brought to the fore cracks in ruling coalition again. Nationalist Congress President Sharad Pawar Tuesday broke ranks with ally Sena to question the BMC’s action. “I don’t know if there was anything illegal (about the office)…It won’t be appropriate to comment on this without having proper information. Illegal construction isn’t a new thing in Mumbai. In view of the prevalent situation, the BMC’s actions give space to raise doubt in people’s minds. However, BMC has its own rules and officers may have found it appropriate to take the action,” Pawar said. “She (Ranaut) should have been ignored…(this is) unnecessarily giving her a handle,” a senior Congress minister in the Thackeray government told The Indian Express. Another senior leader said: “It’s a self-goal.”
CRITICISING THE Centre's decision to provide Y-plus security to actor Kangana Ranaut, the Shiv Sena, in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, alleged there was a conspiracy "to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra" by defaming and damaging Mumbai and weakening its economy. The editorial also urged the state to unite against those using "disrespectful" language about the Maharashtra chief minister.
"While Maharashtra is angry (about this), the BJP has directly supported people who have insulted Mumbai and Maharashtra’s CM," the editorial stated.
In an alleged reference to actor Kangana Ranaut's remark comparing Mumbai to PoK, Maharashtra NCP president and Irrigation Minister Jayant Patil Wednesday tweeted that some 'people' comparing "this great city and our police force to that of Pakistan is outlandish" and it is just to "gain publicity and limelight".
"It is painful to come across people who are not grateful to what Mumbai and Maharashtra has to offer - in terms of the opportunities, women safety and tolerance," he said.
"Mumbai is the mother that does not discriminate. Let us all be respectful to the spirit of Mumbai and the dignity of the elected offices of the state," he added.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur condemned the demolition of a portion of Kangana Ranaut's Mumbai bungalow by the civic body Wednesday, saying she 'is a daughter' of the state and she should get a 'proper atmosphere' to work in her field.
Speaking in State Assembly, Thakur said his government has provided security at Ranaut's Manali residence and 11 CRPF commandos would accompany her wherever she would go in the country as part of the Y-plus security provided by the Centre. Himachal Pradesh will do its best to ensure her security, he added.
'Kangana is a daughter of Himachal Pradesh and she has brought laurels not only to the state but to the entire country,' he said in the assembly, adding she should get proper atmosphere to work in her field. (PTI)
Kangana Ranaut's lawyer Rizwan Siddiqui on Wednesday alleged that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which demolished part of her Bandra bungalow earlier in the day, was lying about illegal construction there.
Siddiqui said, "The BMC is lying. It's lying on record (about illegal construction at the bungalow). They said they have given stop-work notice. But such notice is given when the construction process is underway."
"There is no construction going on at the place. It was over about one-and-a-half years ago," he added.
Siddiqui said that even as the BMC officials were told that they have moved the Bombay High Court against the demolition, the civic authorities did not stop the process. "They rejected our reply at 10.19 am. Immediately, we moved the court (HC) and served the copies (of the plea) to BMC office as well the official present on the spot," the lawyer said.
"I also told them that the matter is in the court. Despite that they didn't stop the demolition. The work stopped only after the HC gave a stay on it," he added. (PTI)
Launching a fresh salvo against Maharashtra government, Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut Wednesday warned Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray that his "ego will be destroyed" just as he broke her house. In a video message posted on her Twitter handle, Ranaut said now she understood how Kashmiri Pandits would have felt and she would make a film on them as well.
Bollywood actor Kangana Ranau landed here from her home state Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday amid protests by Shiv Sena workers at the airport over he remarks on Mumbai police. Kangana, who flew from Chandigarh by a scheduled commercial flight, landed at Mumbai around 2.30 pm.
Sena workers with black flags were seen outside the airport, shouting slogans against her.
Workers of the RPI (A) and Karni Sena had also gathered in support of the actor. RPI (A) leader and Union minister Ramdas Athawale had declared that his party worker will protect Kangana while she is in Mumbai.
Undue importance is being attached to the statements made by Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday without naming her, PTI reported.
"We are giving undue importance to those making such statements. We will have to see what influence such statements have on the people at large," Pawar said. "In my opinion, people do not take seriously (such statements)," he added.
Pawar said the people of Maharashtra and Mumbai have "years of experience" of how the state and city's police work.
Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has been accorded Y-plus category of CRPF security by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the wake of her spat with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, and after she said she feared for her life. Eleven commandos have been tasked with protecting Ranaut. Two of the commandos will provide her with mobile security, while one will guard her residence at all times across the country. So anyone who is threatened, and who expresses a threat to their life, will get central government protection?
In yet another tweet, Kangana wrote, "There is no illegal construction in my house, also government has banned any demolitions in Covid till September 30, Bullywood watch now this is what Fascism looks like."
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday stayed the demolition process initiated by the BMC for illegal construction at actor Kangana Ranaut's bungalow here and sought to know why did the city civic body enter the property when the owner was not present. Justice S J Kathawalla was hearing a petition filed by Ranaut challenging the notice issued by the BMC for illegal construction at her bungalow. The petition also sought a stay on the demolition process. The court sought to know from BMC how it entered the premises and directed it to file an affidavit in response to the plea. The court has posted the matter for hearing on Thursday.
A BMC team reached the bungalow at Pali Hill in Bandra with bulldozer and excavators and demolished alterations made sans the civic body's approval.
A BMC team reached the bungalow at Pali Hill in Bandra with bulldozer and excavators and demolished alterations made sans the civic body's approval.
"As I am all set for Mumbai Darshan on my way to the (Chandigarh) airport, Maha government and their goons are at my property all set to illegally break it down, go on! I promised to give blood for Maharashtra pride. This is nothing, take everything but my spirit will only rise higher and higher," Ranaut tweeted shortly before she was to catch an afternoon flight from the Chandigarh international airport. Ranaut, whose comments led to a spat with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, had said she felt unsafe in Mumbai after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and also spoke of drug use in a section of the film industry.
The Bombay High Court asked the BMC to stop the demolition at Kangana Ranaut’s office and asked the civic body to respond to her petition. The matter will now be taken up at 3 pm tomorrow.
Mumbai Police have made adequate security arrangements near the airport ahead of actress Kangana Ranaut's arrival, an official said on Wednesday. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had accorded Y+ category security to her after she expressed a threat to her life as she spoke about drug use among a section in the film industry, following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Actor Kangana Ranaut approached the Bombay High Court on Wednesday challenging the notice issued by the Mumbai civic body for 'illegal construction' at her bungalow here, and sought a stay on the demolition process. "We filed a petition this morning seeking urgent hearing. We have sought a stay on the demolition process by way of interim relief," Ranaut's advocate Rizwan Siddiqui told PTI.
A BMC team reached the bungalow at Pali Hill in Bandra with bulldozer and excavators and demolished alterations made sans the civic body's approval. Ranaut, who is scheduled to reach later in the day, has alleged that the Maharashtra government is targeting her because of her fight with the Shiv Sena