Kangana Ranaut says politics is ‘a very expensive hobby': ‘You are left with ₹50-60k salary'
'I always say that politics is a very expensive hobby,' the Mandi MP said in an interview with Times Now.
Clarifying her statement further, Ranaut said that one cannot just have politics as a profession if they are an 'honest person', while citing expenses as a Member of Parliament (MP).
'If you are an MP you can't have it as a profession ... you need a job,' she said.
'What you're left with is actually ₹50,000 - ₹60,000 is your salary as an MP. If I have to go to my constituency with some representation, some PAs from here, some three-four cars, the expenses are in lakhs because one place from other is 300-400 kms minimum. So you need a job,' Ranaut further said.
She also cited the example of other artistes who had joined the political field before her, saying they had retained their earlier professions.
'Lot of MPs have businesses, they are working as lawyers. Even people who have come before me like Javed Akhtar ji, they kept doing their work,' Ranaut added.
'Wouldn't say I'm enjoying it': Ranaut on political career
Ranaut's remarks on the expenses of a political career come a couple of days after she expressed uncertainty on whether she was 'enjoying' the profession.
'I'm getting a hang of it. I wouldn't say that I am enjoying it (politics). It's a very different kind of work, more like social service," Ranaut said, adding that this was never her 'background'.
Speaking on a podcast on the YouTube channel Atman in Ravi (AIR), Ranaut said that people approach her with 'panchayat-level problems'.
'Somebody's naali (drain) is broken, and I'm like, 'But I am an MP and these people are coming to me with panchayat-level problems',' Ranaut said.
'When they see you, they come to you with problems like MLAs, broken roads, and I tell them that's a state government issue, and they say, 'You have money, you use your own money,' she added.
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