After the slapping incident, Kangana Ranaut’s statement on “extremism in Punjab” causes controversy

Jalandhar: Newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut was allegedly slapped by an on-duty Central Reserve Police Force (CISF) constable at Chandigarh airport on Thursday (June 6). The CISF constable has been suspended with immediate effect while a complaint has been filed against her at Chandigarh airport.

According to reports, the incident occurred around 3.30 pm when Ranaut was coming out of the airport security checkpoint. She was ready to board flight UK 707 to Delhi after winning her first election from Mandi Lok Sabha constituency in Himachal Pradesh.

The suspended CISF soldier was identified as Kulvinder Kaur, who hails from Mahiwal village in Kapurthala district of Punjab. The video footage of the incident went viral on social media and sparked a debate over the incident.

Ranaut later confirmed the incident and posted a video on her official Instagram page, giving details and expressing concern over “rising terrorism and extremism in Punjab.”

In the video, Ranaut said, “I am getting a lot of calls from the media and from my friends. First of all, I am safe, I am perfectly fine. The incident took place at Chandigarh airport with security personnel. The moment I came out of the security check, a security guard from another booth came from the side, slapped me on the face and started abusing me.”

“When I asked her (CISF soldier) why she did this, she said that she supported the farmers’ protest. I am safe, but my concern is that jo aatankwad aur ugarwad Punjab mai bad raha hai (the increasing terrorism and extremism in Punjab), how do we deal with it?”

Within minutes, another video went viral in which Kaur was heard saying, “I slapped her for speaking out against the farmers’ protests.” Is it normal that you get 100-100 rupees but that’s what you do? Meri Maa baithi, this time it was that we didn’t. Maa ki insult Sehan Nai Huyi (She had stated that women farmers were sitting in the farmers’ protests for Rs 100 per person. My mother was also sitting there when she made this statement. I could not bear the insult to my mother.)”

When the farmers’ protest reached its peak in 2020, Ranaut had posted on her X-handle that an elderly woman – ‘Dadi’ – who had joined the protest had also participated in the Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. ‘Dadi’ was seen in Time Magazine as one of the most powerful Indians. However, Ranaut had claimed that the women were brought to the protests in return for a payment of 100 rupees per person per day.

Farmers’ unions demand investigation and publication of all footage

In a video message from Shambhu, Sarwan Pandher, coordinator and senior Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) official, termed the incident as a mere coincidence and not a planned conspiracy. “Kangana has spoken out against the farmers and the Punjabi community earlier too. She is known to hurt their sentiments and defame the elderly women farmers by claiming that they were given Rs 100 for their protest, which was false.”

Pandher said they also came to know that Ranaut had misbehaved with the CISF soldier and that an investigation must be initiated to bring out the truth. “We are not justifying violence but Kangana’s doping test should be conducted to ascertain the facts. The airport authorities should also release the video footage of our three young farmers Navdeep Singh, Gurkirat Singh and Anish Khatkar, who were also arrested at the same airport during the Shambhu Morcha protest,” he said.

The senior farmer leader also said that this is not the first time that politicians have had to face public anger over sensitive issues. “There have been incidents where a shoe was hurled at Congress leader P Chidambaram while Arvind Kejriwal was slapped in public. People are expressing anger over injustice but it is wrong to arrest them or take action against them. I have also spoken to Kulvinder Kaur’s brother who told us that the police have not even informed them about their whereabouts. If there is any untoward incident, we will hold a massive protest against the government,” he added.

Tejveer Singh Ambala, KMM member and spokesperson of BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar), said the government had noticed the slap but was unaware of the firing, tear gas attack and killing of Shubh Karan Singh in Shambhu.

On Ranaut’s statement that terrorism and extremism are on the rise in Punjab, Tejveer said that Ranaut hates Punjab and she has been defaming Punjab and Punjabis for quite some time. “Today too, the farmers sat on the streets in the scorching heat and fought for an MSP law and the rights of the common man in the country, but she did not think twice about insulting Punjab.”

Demanding a detailed investigation, Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leader Raminder Singh Patiala said Ranaut’s statement that terrorism and extremism were on the rise in Punjab was abhorrent.

“It is wrong to portray Punjab as an extremist state. It seems that the BJP has still not understood or accepted that the people of the country have passed a verdict against hate speech and its communalist politics. The BJP could not open an account in Punjab and suffered a crushing defeat in Uttar Pradesh. Wherever farmers protested, the BJP was wiped out. At the same time, the CISF is a disciplined force. When a soldier feels provoked, one can well imagine the anger of the common people over such irresponsible statements,” he added.

SGPC condemns Ranaut’s comments on Punjab

Meanwhile, Harjinder Singh Dhami, chairman of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC), said Ranaut’s continued attacks on Punjab and Punjabis were extremely unfortunate and painful.

“Kangana’s statement that terrorism is on the rise in Punjab is a reflection of her sick mentality, while the truth is that terrorism is being spread through her tongue and is poisoning the atmosphere of the country. Kangana should never forget that the multi-ethnic and multi-lingual culture of the country is alive today only because of the sacrifices of Punjabis for the country,” he added.

Earlier, Jairam Thakur, leader of opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, said he came to know about the incident through television news. “If it has happened, it is highly unfortunate and wrong. Legal action should be taken against the CISF jawan as no one has the right to slap an elected MP. There are other ways to express one’s feelings,” he said.