Bollywood actress and newly elected MP hit the headlines on Thursday as she was slapped by a CISF guard at the Chandigarh airport. The actress was on her way to New Delhi, when Kulwinder Kaur, a CISF constable slapped her at the security check and hurled abuses at the Chandigarh airport.
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Hours later, Kangana issued a video message on social media assuring that she was ‘safe and perfectly fine’ but questioned the growing terrorism in Punjab. “How do we handle it?” asked Kangana in the video.
The CISF constable was eventually arrested and suspended from her job. She had attacked Kangana over the actress’s earlier comments on the farmers’ protest in 2021-22.
Soon after the incident on Thursday, the internet erupted with multiple reactions over the incident. While several mocked Kangana and some even stated that she deserved the slap, others felt that violence was not the solution, despite her derogatory comments.
Several political leaders and actors commented on the incident with varied reactions. Have a look.
What led to the incident?
Kangana took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared a video assuring her followers that she was safe and then went on to recount the incident that took place at the Chandigarh airport on Thursday afternoon.
Kulwinder Kaur, the CISF constable who ‘slapped’ Kangana Ranaut at Chandigarh airport
“I am getting a lot of phone calls, from the media as well as my well-wishers. First of all, I am safe, I am perfectly fine. The incident that happened today at Chandigarh airport was during the security check. As soon as I came out after the security check, the lady in the second cabin, a CISF security staff came from the side, hit me on my face and started abusing me. When I asked her why she did so, she said that she supports farmers’ protest. I am safe but I am concerned about the terrorism and extremism that is increasing in Punjab,” she said in the video.
During the 2020-2021 farmer agitation against the three farm laws, Kangana had allegedly misidentified a woman farmer from Punjab and called her Bilkis Bano (Bilkis Dadi), an octogenarian who made international headlines during the anti-CAA protests in the Delhi neighbourhood of Shaheen Bagh.
Another video from the Chandigarh airport shows the CISF guard, identified as Kulwinder Kaur, saying, “Isne bayaan diya tha na ke 100-100 rupay ke liye baithti hai waha pe, Meri maa baithi thi jab isne bayan Diya tha (Didn’t she say people sat at the protest for mere Rs 100? My mother had sat at that protest)”.
WION’s take on Kangana Ranaut slapgate: Should violence be the solution?
While many may deem Kangana’s comments on the farmers’ protest inappropriate and insensitive, she still had the right to express her opinion on the matter as a citizen of a democratic society. One may or may not agree with Kangana’s viewpoint, but violence cannot be a counter-reaction to any comment. In a democratic society, there are other means to express dissatisfaction and complain if one disagrees with another’s opinion and raising a hand is definitely not one of them. Lodging a police complaint and taking legal course of action make for a better repartee than a slap.
