Himachal Pradesh's Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut showed two very different sides of herself within days, first losing her temper at officials in Mandi and then staying composed while grilling police over the drug trade in a separate meeting in Kullu.
A calmer tone, but the same tough questions on drugs
Ranaut attended the DISHA committee meeting in Kullu, where she pressed the Superintendent of Police on the drug menace. Her tone this time was measured and even gentle, though her questions stayed pointed. She asked why drugs were being openly sold from roadside kiosks in rural areas without the police cracking down. The issue was first flagged by non-official members present at the meeting before the MP took it further.
"This is a huge failure of the police"
Ranaut told the meeting that drug abuse is a nationwide problem and it would be wrong to assume Himachal Pradesh could stay untouched by it. She said, "This is a huge failure of the police." In her view, the inability to rein in drug trafficking reflects a larger failure of policing that needs action on the ground, not just statements.
SP Abhishek Sekar listens, points to challenges
SP Abhishek Sekar listened carefully as the MP spoke. Officials indicated that repeat offenders are being caught. It was also noted that tougher drug laws often prompt parents to come forward with complaints, meaning stricter enforcement has ripple effects for families. Even so, it was agreed that building a system to stop drug trafficking from recurring rests squarely on the police, who must take ownership of that responsibility.
What set off the outburst in Mandi
Days earlier, the mood at the DISHA committee meeting in Mandi had been very different. Ranaut had come down hard on officials there, questioning them sharply, and her choice of words drew attention as a video of the exchange went viral. She later said the Sukhu government had ruined Himachal Pradesh. At that meeting, she had pointed out that she had brought around Rs 11 crore in central funds, yet officials had managed to spend only Rs 50 lakh of it. She asked what answer she could possibly give the national media in Delhi over such a slow pace of spending.
Seen together, the two meetings suggest Ranaut's sharpest anger is reserved for delays in spending public funds, while on the drug issue she chose persuasion over confrontation, even as she kept the pressure on Kullu police to show results.
