Immediately after receiving one of the highest civilian awards of the country, the Padma Shri Award, actor and prominent pro-BJP public figure Kangana Ranaut declared that what the country won in 1947 was mere alms, and that true freedom only came in 2014 with Narendra Modi being elected Prime Minister. She made this statement at a conclave organised by Times Now (one of the TV channels dedicated to serving the interests of the Modi regime).