Diminishes us: Gul Panag shreds Dhruv Rathee over 'humiliate PM everywhere' remark

Actor Gul Panag, known for not backing the Narendra Modi government, has lashed out against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee for "reducing the office of India's Prime Minister". Rathee said that "Modi deserves to be humiliated everywhere he goes". He tagged the Norwegian journalist who threw a question at Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an official event in Oslo that wasn't a press conference. Read Full Story Journalist Helle Lyng had put a question to PM Modi during his joint briefing with his Norwegian counterpart during his recent visit. Lyng even ran after Modi to the elevator, asking a question that was best put to Norwegian leaders. Critics of the PM, including Dhruv Rathee, turned Lyng into an internet sensation. However, her hollowness has been exposed in the multiple interviews that she gave since the incident. In a post on X, Rathee, who has 25 million followers on YouTube, said foreign journalists will be doing a great service to India's progress if they ask the PM questions. "Modi deserves to be humiliated everywhere he goes. He has not given a single press conference in 12 years since he became Prime Minister. He fails to fulfil the basic transparency and accountability requirements of being a leader," wrote Rathee. "I would like to encourage foreign journalists from other European countries to ask him questions wherever they see him, just like Helle Lyng did. Embarrass him so much that he is forced to show some accountability in front of people. You will be doing great service to India's progress," wrote Rathee, who lives in Germany. Slamming Rathee, Gul Panag made a clear distinction between what she saw as dissent and the diminishing of the top post of the Government of India. She said that such acts would ultimately end up diminishing the people of India. "Not cool. You can dislike a Prime Minister, disagree with a government, protest, debate, and vote differently. That's democracy. But reducing the office of India's Prime Minister, the man, the office, and what he represents abroad, to a joke on foreign soil — doesn't feel like the right thing or dissent — to me," wrote Panag on X, tagging Rathee. "It diminishes him, the institution, and ultimately, us," she added. GUL PANAG IS A STRONG CRITIC OF THE MODI GOVERNMENT Actor Gul Panag has often been critical of the Modi government on issues ranging from the farmers' protests to national security and civil liberties. Her political association with the AAP dates back to 2014, when she joined the party along with her father, retired Lieutenant General H S Panag. Soon after joining, Gul Panag was fielded by the AAP as its Lok Sabha candidate from Chandigarh in the 2014 general elections. However, she lost to BJP leader Kirron Kher. During the 2020-2012 farmers' protests against the Modi government's now-repealed farm laws, Gul Panag emerged as a vocal supporter of the agitation. She criticised the government's handling of the protests, raised concerns over the "deaths of protesters", and objected to demonstrators being labelled "anti-national". However, Gul Panag later distanced herself from the AAP and quit the party in June 2021, alleging that the party was "flirting with Khalistanis" in Punjab, an issue she claimed to have warned the leadership about earlier. Her father, Lt Gen (Retd) H S Panag, was also closely associated with the AAP during that period and advised the party on strategic affairs and national security matters. He actively campaigned for Gul Panag during her Chandigarh election campaign. Over the years, HS Panag has frequently criticised the Modi government on defence and governance issues, including its handling of the Ladakh standoff with China. HS Panag has also repeatedly warned against what he described as attempts to align the Indian Army's top brass with the BJP's ideology, arguing that such perceptions weaken the Army's apolitical character. In 2017, he drew significant backlash after strongly condemning the controversial "human shield" incident in Kashmir, saying the image would "haunt the Indian Army". Gul Panag's post slamming Dhruv Rathee, has clocked more than 113k views on X. It has attracted support from several users and sparked wider discussion on dissent, patriotism and how India should be represented overseas. Ends