Actors Diljit Dosanjh and Kangana Ranaut, who have notably locked horns on Twitter several times over the ongoing farmers' protests, clashed yet again on Wednesday. Believe it or not, at the epicentre of their verbal war this time was Barbadian singing icon, Rihanna.
On February 3, Dosanjh released a single titled RiRi, in honour of the 32-year-old singer who often goes by that name. The Punjabi song, which came a day after her tweet on the farmers' protest, was all praises for her. Ranaut, who had responded strongly to Rihanna's tweet a day ago, swooped down on Dosanjh's song, asking "yeh sab kabse plan ho raha hai ?"
Mera ek he kaam jai Desh Bhakti ... wahi karti hoon sara din.. main toh wahi karungi lekin tera kaam tujhe nahin karne dungi Khalistani... https://t.co/NsU5DzXCiG
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) February 3, 2021
Here's some context to Diljit Dosanjh and Kangana Ranaut's arguments this time around:
It all began on Tuesday when pop star Rihanna sparked a social media storm by amplifying the farm law protests, asking, "why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest." Her tweet immediately thrust the global spotlight on issues concerning the protests in and around Delhi. Ranaut, who has previously expressed disagreement with the ongoing protests, in a strong reaction called the 32-year-old singer a "fool" and the farmers, "terrorists."
Dosanjh, meanwhile, who has been vocal about his unwavering solidarity with farmers, released a song titled RiRi in tribute to Rihanna, a day after her viral tweet. This inspired a reaction from Ranaut, which fired up a back-and-forth between the two.
Diljit Dosanjh and Kangana Ranaut: A Timeline of their Twitter War
After Ranaut took a jibe at Dosanjh, he responded saying making a song took him no more than half an hour. A high-octane exchange ensued, in which Ranaut pressed Dosanjh to reveal his ideologies. "please say you condemn fringe groups such as Khalistanis participating in protests. If you say this I will apologise and consider you a true patriot," she wrote.
"Asi Bhai BHARAT DE NAAL AN," Dosanjh responded, meaning "We are with India." He further said those elements allegedly disrupting the protests or breaking the law will be answerable to the government.
Chal theek hai, sirf bol de tu Khalistani nahin hai, kyun itna baatein ghuma raha hai ? Bol de simply ... kyun nahin bol sakta ? Sara discussion close ho jayega mera doubt bhi clear ho jayega. Please say ... https://t.co/LkjI70fbd4
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) February 3, 2021
Diljit Dosanjh and Kangana Ranaut fire up over the farmers' protests
This was not the first time that Diljit Dosanjh and Kangana Ranaut fought it out over the protests through their respective screens. In December last year, the two made headlines for disputing over a video regarding an elderly woman protestor, whom Ranaut wrongly identified as Bilkis Bano from Shaheen Bagh.
Dosanjh, who held his side of the argument up in Punjabi, had said, “You have no manners to speak.. Being a woman how can you call someone else’s sister or mother a 100 rupees person. In Punjab mothers are like god to us."
Later, Ranaut lashed out at Dosanjh, and other actors like Priyanka Chopra, for "misleading" and "encouraging" the farmers' protests. Read more here.