Mr Raut belongs to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena.
Mumbai:
After Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kangana Ranaut was allegedly slapped by a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) official at Chandigarh airport, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut sympathised with her, stating that an MP should not be attacked but farmers should also be respected.
Ms Ranaut was slapped by a CISF official while she was headed to Delhi on Thursday. The incident took place during an alleged argument over the farmers’ protest, which was held against the farm laws (now repealed) and other issues. The official was suspended later in the day.
Addressing the media in Mumbai, Mr Raut said, “Some people give votes and some give slaps. I don’t know what has happened actually… If the constable has said that her mother was also sitting (at a protest site), then it is true. If her mother was there in the farmers’ agitation and someone said anything against it, then it would create anger. But if PM Modi says that there should be the rule of law, then it should not be taken into (one’s) hands…”
“The people in the farmer’s agitation were sons and daughters of India. If someone insults Bharat Mata and someone is offended by it, then it is something to think about. I have sympathy for Kangana Ranaut. She is an MP now. An MP should not be attacked, but the farmers should also be respected”, he added.
Meanwhile, after the incident, Ms Ranaut took to her social media account and asked how growing “extremism” and “terrorism” could be ended in Punjab.
“I am safe. I am perfectly fine. The incident took place during the security check. After I was done with the security check, a woman constable of the CISF waited for me to pass through the cabin. Later, she came from the side, hit me in the face and started abusing me”, Ms Ranaut said in a post on ‘X’.
“When I asked her why she did this, she told me that she had supported the farmers’ protest. My question is how we can end growing extremism and terrorism in Punjab”, the BJP leader added.
Meanwhile, the CISF constable said that her mother was among the farmers holding a sit-in protest against the farm laws, which now have been repealed.
“She stated that the farmers are sitting there for Rs 100. Will she go and sit there? My mother was sitting there and protesting when she gave this statement…” she said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
