Can't celebrate 'the slap': Shabana Azmi on Kangana being slapped at airport

Days after newly elected MP and actor Kangana Ranaut was allegedly slapped by a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) constable at Chandigarh airport, veteran actor Shabana Azmi shared her views on the incident.

"I have no love lost for Kangana Ranaut. But I can't find myself joining this chorus of celebrating 'the slap'. If security personnel start taking law into their hands, none of us can be safe," Shabana said in a post on X.

The incident occurred on 6 June around 3:30pm when Kangana was about to board a flight to Delhi to attend a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which concluded on Friday.

Kangana was allegedly slapped by a CISF constable while she was headed to Delhi for the NDA meeting. An FIR has been lodged against the constable under IPC sections 321 and 341, but no arrest has been made.

Hours after the incident, Kangana released a video on her official Instagram page, where she narrated the details and expressed concern over "rising terrorism and extremism in Punjab."

In the video, Kangana said, "I am getting a lot of phone calls from the media and my well-wishers. Firstly, I am safe, I am perfectly fine. The incident that took place happened at Chandigarh airport with security staff. The moment I came out after the security check, a security staff member in another cabin came from the side and hit me on my face and started abusing me."

"When I asked her (CISF member), why did she do this, she said that she supported the farmers' protest. I am safe but my concern is that the terrorism and extremism that is rising in Punjab, how do we handle that?" she asked.

On the day of the incident, another video went viral, where the constable said that her mother was among the farmers holding a sit-in protest against the farm laws, which have now been repealed.

She was heard saying, "She had given a statement that women farmers were sitting at the farmers' protest for Rs 100 each. My mother was also sitting there when she gave this statement. I could not tolerate the insult of my mother."

Celebrities like Anupam Kher and Mallika Dua also reacted to the incident.