Kangana slap row: Punjab farmers march in support of CISF constable

Farmers’ outfits took out a march in Punjab’s Mohali on Sunday (June 9) in support of the CISF woman constable who allegedly slapped actor and BJP MP-elect Kangana Ranaut at the Chandigarh airport earlier this week.

Among the outfits were the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. The leaders demanded that a fair investigation should be conducted into the matter while asserting that there should not be any injustice with the constable, Kulwinder Kaur.

Adequate security personnel were deployed in the wake of the march, which began from Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali.

Farmers seek impartial probe

Speaking to reporters, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said there should be an impartial probe into the matter. He asserted that there should be no injustice with Kaur and that what led to the incident should be found out.

Farmer leaders also lashed out at Ranaut for allegedly making provocative statements against the people of Punjab.

Kaur was apparently upset with Ranaut over her stance on the farmers’ protests. The CISF, tasked with providing security at airports, has also ordered a court of inquiry into the incident.

The Mohali Police has booked Kaur under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint). Both are bailable offences.

What Ranaut said

Ranaut, in a video message on Thursday, said she was hit in the face and abused by the constable during a security check at the Chandigarh airport, the ugly fracas breaking out two days after she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

In a video statement titled “Shocking rise in terror and violence in Punjab” posted on X after she landed in Delhi later on Thursday, Ranaut said she was safe and fine.

The constable, Ranaut had said, came towards her from the side.

“She hit me in the face and started abusing me. I asked her why she did it and she said she supports the farmer protests…. I am safe but my concern is that terrorism and extremism are increasing in Punjab... How do we handle that?” Ranaut said in the video.

Constable’s justification

Another video doing the rounds on social media showed the agitated constable talking to people, presumably after the incident.

“Kangana made a statement (earlier) that farmers were protesting in Delhi because they were paid Rs 100 or Rs 200. At the time, my mother was one of the protesters,” she said in the purported video.

(With agency inputs)