Irani hits out at Deepika for JNU visit, says she stood with those who want destruction of India
Chennai, Jan 10: Attacking Bollywood star Deepika Padukone for her visit to JNU, Union minister Smriti Irani has said the actor chose to stand next to people who wanted the "destruction of India".
Deepika on Tuesday made a surprise visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru University to express solidarity with students who were attacked by a masked mob inside the campus on January 5. She did not address the public meeting but stood silently behind student leaders.
According to Irani, Deepika had made her political affiliations known in 2011 itself when she praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and called him a suitable candidate for the post of the prime minister.
"I think I would rather know what her political affiliation is than not know. I think that anybody who has read the news knew where you are going to stand... (They) knew that you are going to stand with people who wanted the destruction of India, knew that you are standing with people who celebrate every time a CRPF jawan is killed," Irani said at an event hosted by The New Indian Express here on Thursday evening.
The video of the minister's remarks was posted on the publication's Twitter handle.
"... They hit some girls on their private parts with 'lathis'. So she stood next to them. That is her right. I can't deny her that right. She will stand next to people who will beat up other girls, who don't see eye-to-eye ideologically, in private parts. That's her freedom. She made her political affiliation known in 2011 that she supports the Congress party," the minister said.
The Textiles minister added that people who admired the Bollywood star's work are in shock over her decision to visit the JNU campus.
"I think the problem that has happened is that a lot of people are in shock. They didn't know. There were a lot of people who were admirers and possibly watched many of her films and for them it was a shock."
Deepika has been in the eye of the proverbial storm after her visit to JNU, getting appreciation from the film fraternity, activists, politicians and other sectors of society but also being criticised and trolled by many on social media and elsewhere.
Earlier this week, Deepika was in Delhi to promote her latest release "Chhapaak", based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
