# Rijiju defends Kangana’s right to criticise Kriti Sanon’s attire 2026-08-26T19:12:20+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Union minister Kiren Rijiju has defended BJP MP Kangana Ranaut's right to criticise actor Kriti Sanon over her attire in a now-withdrawn Rakhi advertisement, saying freedom of expression includes the right to disagree. In an interview with India Today TV, Rijiju said if someone can express views, others must be allowed to disagree. He said his role as parliamentary affairs minister allowed him to guide MPs on procedure, not dictate what they say outside Parliament. Rijiju also condemned abusive remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother, saying he would never remain silent if anyone abused the PM. He said criticism and political opposition were legitimate, but abuse was not. On the Manusmriti debate, Rijiju said India is governed by the Constitution, not religious texts, and people have the democratic right to accept or reject them. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Rijiju's intervention walks a tightrope between defending party colleague Ranaut's free speech and condemning Gen Z protesters who abused PM Modi. The Manusmriti remark distances the government from a text long criticised by Dalit and women's rights groups, while reiterating constitutional supremacy. What remains unaddressed is the party's own internal discipline: Ranaut's comments triggered a social media backlash and the advertisement was withdrawn. The question of whether the BJP expects restraint from its own MPs on cultural and gender issues will resurface if similar remarks are made in Parliament or at party forums. The interview leaves the disciplinary question open: the parliamentary affairs minister has no authority over personal social media posts. How the party's leadership handles such remarks in future will signal its stance on the boundary between free expression and party discipline. ## Coverage - indiatoday.in Presents Rijiju's remarks with minimal framing and no editorial slant. This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Kangana Ranaut, Kiren Rijiju, Kriti Sanon, Manusmriti, Narendra Modi Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/rijiju-defends-kanganas-right-to-criticise-kriti-sanons-attire/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/rijiju-defends-kanganas-right-to-criticise-kriti-sanons-attire/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/