This is an archive article published on November 14, 2021
Agree with Kangana’s remarks on Independence, says actor Vikram Gokhale
“I agree with what Kangana has said. We got freedom in alms. The fighters who wanted to snatch it from the British were hanged and the bigwigs at that time did not attempt to save them,” Gokhale said.
Vikram Gokhale was speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by the Bramhan Mahasangh in Pune to honour the actor on his 75th birthday.
Veteran actor Vikram Gokhale on Sunday said he agreed with actor Kangana Ranaut’s recent remark that the Independence India attained in 1947 was a “bheekh” (alms), adding that he also supported Ranaut’s statement that India got “real freedom in 2014”.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by Bramhan Mahasangh in the city to honour Gokhale on his 75th birthday, the actor said, “I agree with what Kangana has said. We got freedom in alms. The fighters who wanted to snatch it from the British were hanged and the bigwigs at that time did not attempt to save them.”
Gokhale later told the Indian Express: “I also agree with what Ranaut said that we got real freedom in 2014.”
Gokhale, though, said he was not a blind supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “When PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah go on election campaign, I don’t agree with what they say. But yes, when they work in national interest, like how they put China on the backfoot, I support them.”
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Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said, “If Gokhale is supporting her (Ranaut), he should better join a political party like BJP.” To this, Gokhale said he was not a supporter of any political party. “My views are my views. They are not dictated by any political parties. All parties are similar,” he said.
Actor Sharad Ponkshe, whose play “Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy” had created a storm a few years back, said, “India gained freedom because of the fight put up by freedom fighters, patriots, satyagrahis, those who believed in non-violence, and even those who stayed home and prayed…Indian gained freedom in 1947 and not in 2014.” Stating that he did not want to get into a verbal duel with Gokhale, he said, “I don’t know what he said and what was reported by television channels, which are known for twisting things.”
Santosh Shinde of the Sambhaji Brigade said, “Gokhale supporting Ranaut should invite seditious charges…We will file a complaint with the police tomorrow (Monday).”
Mukund Kirdat of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said, “We are consulting our legal team and might file a police complaint against the actor.”
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Gokhale, a well known name in theatre and films, also said that the Shiv Sena and the BJP must join hands, adding he was putting in efforts to bring the two parties back together. “My efforts are on. I had personally asked Devendra Fadnavis (former CM and senior BJP leader) why he did not give CM’s post to Sena for 2.5 years. He (Fadnavis) told me that it was a mistake.”
He said that in the future too, he would personally speak to Fadnavis and CM Uddhav Thackeray.
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees.
During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa.
Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.
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