CISF Personnel Slaps Actress Kangana Ranaut, an Elected MP

On 6 Jun, two days after the election results, in which Kangana Ranaut was elected Member of Parliament from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, she was passing through the Chandigarh airport, where she was escorted by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officers. At the security gate, Ranaut refused to place her purse and mobile phone in the scanner. When requested by on-duty personnel, a verbal fracas took place. Ranaut saw the name tag of one personnel and said, ‘Kaur? You are Khalistani!’ Ranaut boarded her flight, reached Delhi, and claimed she had been slapped by CISF personnel Kulwinder Kaur. A video emerged showing Kaur at the luggage console saying, ‘You said women at the Farmers Protest can be hired for Rs 100. Had you sat there for one day you would have known better. My mother was at the Protest.’ During the Farmers’ Protest 2020-21, Ranaut insulted the protesting grandmothers and used an elderly woman Mohinder Kaur’s picture in her tweet. Mohinder Kaur responded. Kulwinder was taken into custody by Panjab police but has not been arrested. Ranaut issued a statement that ended with her being concerned about the rise of ‘terrorism and violence in Panjab.’ Kulwinder comes from a family whose members have served the country in 1965, 1971, and other wars. While many knowing Ranaut’s past foul utterances cheered Kulwinder’s slap, farmers carried out solidarity rallies, and some invoked the misdemeanor in uniform. At the core of this issue is that Sikhs have huge representation in military services, but they are also human with sharp sensibilities. Public figures must not abuse the community.