Actor Shabana Azmi has come out in support and condemned the attack on newly elected Member of Parliament, actor Kangana Ranaut. On June 6, while travelling to Delhi from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, for her swearing-in ceremony, Ranaut was slapped by a lady CISF personnel at the Chandigarh airport, Punjab, for her comments on the farmers’ protests.

“I condemn the slapping incident completely,” says Azmi, adding, “Kangana is a duly elected MP, here to serve the country. You can disagree with her views, but resorting to violence isn’t acceptable in any circumstances. The true essence of a democracy is that there is room for dissent without taking the law into your hands.”

Referencing Indira Gandhi’s assassination, where the former late Prime Minister’s armed bodyguard fatally shot her on October 31, 1984, the 73-year-old elaborates, “We trust our security personnel with our safety. If that confidence is breached there will be a descension into chaos. Remember what happened with Indira Gandhi? No amount of provocation can justify the actions of the CISF personnel, particularly when she is in uniform.” Incidentally, Ranaut will play the role of Gandhi in her next film, Emergency.

After actors Raveena Tandon, Anupam Kher and singer Mika Singh voiced their support for Ranaut, actors Alia Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan, Soni Razdan, Sonakshi Sinha and filmmaker Zoya Akhtar have liked a June 8 Instagram post condemning the incident. Meanwhile, an old post where Ranaut voiced her support for actor Will Smith slapping actor Chris Rock, at the 2022 Oscars, resurfaced and has the internet buzzing.