Kangana Ranaut attacks Rihanna for farmers tweet, calls them "terrorists"
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New Delhi: Actor Kangana Ranaut on Tuesday held little back in taking on international pop star Rihanna for coming out in support of the farmers protesting on the outskirts of Delhi since November against the centre's agricultural laws.
Calling the demonstrators "terrorists", Ms Ranaut, who has 3 million Twitter followers versus Rihanna's over 100 million, said they were trying to divide India and called the singer a "fool".
No one is talking about it because they are not farmers they are terrorists who are trying to divide India, so that China can take over our vulnerable broken nation and make it a Chinese colony much like USA...
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) February 2, 2021
Sit down you fool, we are not selling our nation like you dummies. https://t.co/OIAD5Pa61a
The actor also raged at a Twitter user who pulled out an old tweet of hers, seemingly expressing her appreciation for a song by Rihanna.
Oye tattu I took over my account in August last year before that it was a team fan page, mujhe na pop music samajh aata hai nahi main English gaane zyaada sunti hoon. Soja aab ho gaya tera ...
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) February 2, 2021
An ardent supporter of the ruling BJP who has made no bones about her strong dislike for the farmers' protest that has challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kangana Ranaut has frequently railed against the demonstrators.
The Queen star, who has faced a brief suspension on Twitter in the past for calling for the beheading of producers of a TV show that she deemed offensive to Hindus, has taken it upon herself to label the farmers' movement misguided, motivated and against national interest.
In December, she had a days-long feud with Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh over the farmers' protest, triggered by the new laws that they say will leave them at the mercy of large corporations and override safeguards against being cheated.
Ms Ranaut also faced widespread criticism for misidentifying a demonstrator at the farmers' protest as Bilkis Bano, famously known as one of the "Shaheen Bagh dadis" and alleging she had joined the protest for ₹ 100.
Rihanna, who also tweeted about the coup in Myanmar on Tuesday, condemned the internet shutdown aimed at crippling the farmers' movement.
Internet services in the Delhi border areas of Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri - epicentres of the farmers' months-long protest against the centre's agriculture laws - were suspended on Saturday and the shutdown has been extended twice to be in force till at least 5 pm Wednesday.
The order by the Home Ministry had come over the weekend, days after sections of a tractor parade in Delhi by farmers on Republic Day strayed from agreed routes, triggering clashes with the police that left dozens injured and one protester dead.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
