CLASH OF THE TITANS
1. SM QURESHI – SM KRISHNA
2. SHOBHAA DE – SONAM KAPOOR
3. AMITABH BACHCHAN – MANI RATNAM
4. M S DHONI – VIRU SEHWAG
5. LALIT MODI – SHASHI THAROOR
6. MANI AIYAR – SURESH KALMADI
7. JAIRAM RAMESH – P CHIDAMBARAM
8. RAHUL GANDHI – MAYAWATI
9. NITIN GADKARI – LALU YADAV
10. MANMOHAN SINGH – LK ADVANI
There's never a dull moment in our lives, especially when A-list personalities and celebs get into a war of words. Now with most wars taking place in the public domain and new media like Twitter, we can catch the verbal duel from the comfort of our desks, live, as it were.From epic clashes between titans to starlets letting loose in 140 characters, these people gave us enough food for thought - and laughs - in 2010. Some were well-worded, some will go down in history for the words used, some rode on the coattails of someone else's words, but the mud-slinging, in one word, was epic. Here are some of the most prominent wars of words that coloured the landscape of this year a violent red.1. SM QURESHI – SM KRISHNA
2. SHOBHAA DE – SONAM KAPOOR
3. AMITABH BACHCHAN – MANI RATNAM
4. M S DHONI – VIRU SEHWAG
5. LALIT MODI – SHASHI THAROOR
6. MANI AIYAR – SURESH KALMADI
7. JAIRAM RAMESH – P CHIDAMBARAM
8. RAHUL GANDHI – MAYAWATI
9. NITIN GADKARI – LALU YADAV
10. MANMOHAN SINGH – LK ADVANI
- India's External Affairs Minister SM Krishna visited Pakistan in July for talks with his counterpart, Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Three closed door meetings took place in Islamabad - an effort to revive the peace process that was derailed after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. After the meetings, Qureshi held a press conference where he claimed that the Indian delegation was not prepared for the meetings and that Krishna did not have the mandate for meaningful talks. He also said that the Indians were receiving instructions on the phone from New Delhi throughout the parleys. Krishna responded by saying that there was no ambiguity, the mandate given to him was precise and that they were fully prepared for the talks. He denied receiving foreign policy directions from New Delhi during the course of the meetings.In late September, both Krishna and Qureshi attended the UN General Assembly and were expected to meet on the sidelines. The meeting however, never took place and a war of words broke out between both sides over Qureshi raising the Kashmir issue in his speech at the UNGA. "The J&K dispute is about the exercise of the right to self-determination by the Kashmiri people through a free, fair and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices. Pakistan views the prevailing situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir with grave concern," he had said. Krishna responded by expressing his disappointment over the references made. He said soon after - "Pakistan is a country that has enormous internal challenges confronting it, such unsolicited remarks cannot divert attention from the internal problems they are having."Qureshi was earlier scheduled to visit India towards the end of 2010, but the trip has been postponed due to a packed calendar.
2. SHOBHAA DE – SONAM KAPOOR
3. AMITABH BACHCHAN – MANI RATNAM
4. M S DHONI – VIRU SEHWAG
5. LALIT MODI – SHASHI THAROOR
6. MANI AIYAR – SURESH KALMADI
7. JAIRAM RAMESH – P CHIDAMBARAM
8. RAHUL GANDHI – MAYAWATI
9. NITIN GADKARI – LALU YADAV
10. MANMOHAN SINGH – LK ADVANI
- Sonam Kapoor and Shobhaa De didn't exactly get off to the best start. A couple of years ago De wrote in a blog post that the actress "just didn't cut it in the sex appeal stakes". Sonam retaliated by calling her a "60-something porn writer" in an interview to a newspaper.Cut to 2010 - Shobhaa De wrote a scathing review of Punit Malhotra's 'I Hate Luv Storys' starring Sonam and Imran Khan, labelling it as an utterly dull, total dud of a movie. She also claimed that it made one want to "shake up this bloke called Punit Malhotra and spank him in public". Punit who was rumoured to be dating his leading lady took refuge in every celeb's online weapon - Twitter, and tweeted "Guys please don't take Shobhaa De seriously. She's a fossil who's getting no action and going through menopause". Sonam retweeted Punit's line and added a "hahahaha" to boot.Shobhaa De reacted by writing in her blog - "Unfortunately, the current generation of Bollywood brats in their monumental arrogance and limited intelligence forget that not all journalists are purchasable commodities. And if their film is a turkey, that's what it is going to be labelled."Sonam was then apparently reprimanded by daddy dearest Anil Kapoor, following which she deleted the controversial tweet and issued an apology that said "Mrs De, I owe you an apology for getting personal. I'm ashamed for my momentary lapse in judgement. And apologetic. Every writer, journalist and audience is entitled to their opinion and I respect that."
3. AMITABH BACHCHAN – MANI RATNAM
4. M S DHONI – VIRU SEHWAG
5. LALIT MODI – SHASHI THAROOR
6. MANI AIYAR – SURESH KALMADI
7. JAIRAM RAMESH – P CHIDAMBARAM
8. RAHUL GANDHI – MAYAWATI
9. NITIN GADKARI – LALU YADAV
10. MANMOHAN SINGH – LK ADVANI
- Yet another celeb skirmish aided through the able hands of Twitter. It all started with the release of Mani Ratnam's 'Raavan'. The film which had two versions - Hindi and Tamil starred Aishwarya and Abhishek and the Bachchan family was heavily banking on its success. Critics and fans panned the Hindi version when it opened up and particularly found fault with Jr Bachchan's portrayal of Raavan.In a bid to salvage his son's reputation, Sr Bachchan as his Twitter handle calls him blamed the director and editor of the film for Abhishek's disjointed acting and the film's poor show at the box office. He tweeted - "Lot of merited film edited out, causing inconsistent performance and narrative. Abhishek's erratic behaviour was due to symbolic ten heads visually appearing and each giving him different attitudes to adopt for a situation, he would then finally shake them off and decide. In the edit all the visual heads got cut and you see a confused Beera expression and wonder why."Mani Ratnam chose a dignified yet stinging response. When questioned by journalists over the issue he said, "Everyone, including Amitabh Bachchan has the right to voice their opinion. What he has conveyed on the internet, could have been told to me in person. He knows my cell phone number."Big B was left to indulge in some quick damage control. He accused the media (everyone's favourite fall guy) of playing with words and misinterpreting his statement as an affront to Ratnam. Bachchan also then tweeted that "There has and shall always be respect and dignity for Mani Ratnam. He is one of our finest directors and he should never stop making films."
4. M S DHONI – VIRU SEHWAG
5. LALIT MODI – SHASHI THAROOR
6. MANI AIYAR – SURESH KALMADI
7. JAIRAM RAMESH – P CHIDAMBARAM
8. RAHUL GANDHI – MAYAWATI
9. NITIN GADKARI – LALU YADAV
10. MANMOHAN SINGH – LK ADVANI
- The Indian cricket team began their year with a series in Bangladesh. Indian skipper MS Dhoni had to miss the first test in Chittagong due to a back spasm. Harbhajan Singh had to sit out too with a stiff neck and Amit Mishra took his place. The team was led by Dhoni's deputy Virender Sehwag.Mishra grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He took seven wickets in the match and even scored his maiden Test fifty. Both MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh recovered in time for the second Test in Mirpur and resumed their roles in the team. With Dhoni back at the helm of affairs, Pragyan Ojha was preferred over Mishra for the second spinner's position in spite of the latter's performance in the first Test. This is when reports surfaced in the media about alleged arguments between Viru and Dhoni over Mishra's exclusion. Some reports even suggested that the Indian team was divided into two camps - Sehwag's camp including his Delhi teammates like Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra while Dhoni's camp comprised of players like Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Pragyan Ojha. Adding fuel to the fire was Ishant Sharma's statement in a press briefing where he thanked Sehwag for his inclusion in the first Test. This was after he was dropped in the previous series against Sri Lanka.This wasn't the first time that a tiff had reportedly broken out between the two. There was an alleged rift between them during India's 2009 T20 World Cup campaign surrounding Sehwag's injury which came to light only after the team had reached England.
5. LALIT MODI – SHASHI THAROOR
6. MANI AIYAR – SURESH KALMADI
7. JAIRAM RAMESH – P CHIDAMBARAM
8. RAHUL GANDHI – MAYAWATI
9. NITIN GADKARI – LALU YADAV
10. MANMOHAN SINGH – LK ADVANI
- The biggest clash of the year has to be the one between Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor. All seemed to be hunky dory. IPL 3 was turning in to a huge success - raking in the money and spectators as well. IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi was basking in its glory. The league held auctions for two new teams that were to debut in IPL 4. Sahara bagged Pune and a consortium led by Rendezvous Group won a bid for Kochi. After the media reported that the IPL had raised questions over Kochi's shareholding pattern, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi then tweeted details of the stakeholders in the new Kochi IPL team that was sold for Rs 1530 crore.Modi claimed that Sunanda Pushkar, who was then a close associate of the then Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, owned 18 per cent free equity of the franchise. Shashi Tharoor denied any personal stake in the Kochi team and insisted his role was only of a mentor. The tweet controversy snowballed and ultimately Tharoor was asked to put in his papers.Lalit Modi was subsequently suspended from his role as IPL commissioner and accusations came in thick and fast since then. He was also under fire for helping his family and friends buy stakes in some of the IPL teams. Two of the teams - Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab's contracts with the IPL were terminated. The Kochi IPL team consortium has been given additional time to sort out issues between shareholders and partners. Modi was later expelled from both the BCCI and the IPL. Tharoor meanwhile married Sunanda Pushkar and remains MP of Thiruvananthapuram.
6. MANI AIYAR – SURESH KALMADI
7. JAIRAM RAMESH – P CHIDAMBARAM
8. RAHUL GANDHI – MAYAWATI
9. NITIN GADKARI – LALU YADAV
10. MANMOHAN SINGH – LK ADVANI
- The first sign of the CWG storm came in the form of Mani Shankar Aiyar. In July, the former Sports Minister of India said he wanted the Games to fail. He believed the money could have been put to better use. Aiyar said, "I am delighted in a way because rains are causing difficulties for the Commonwealth Games. Basically, I will be very unhappy, if the Games are successful because then they will start bringing Asian Games, Olympic Games and all these".Inevitably, this statement of his caused a furore in the country. Questions were being raised about his integrity as an Indian, and a former Sports Minister at that.But it wasn't difficult to understand that his ire was targeted at the CWG Organising Committee head, Suresh Kalmadi. In retaliation, Kalmadi said, "Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, nobody can spoil the Commonwealth Games. Things are on track, stadiums have been built. If Mr Mani Shankar had continued to be the Sports Minister, probably we would not have seen these stadiums".Aiyar hinted at the removal of Kalmadi by saying no one is indispensable when the nation's reputation is at stake. As expected, Kalmadi said Aiyar's comments were "irresponsible and anti-national".
7. JAIRAM RAMESH – P CHIDAMBARAM
8. RAHUL GANDHI – MAYAWATI
9. NITIN GADKARI – LALU YADAV
10. MANMOHAN SINGH – LK ADVANI
- In May, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh visited China and his comments regarding India's policies towards China drew criticism. In Beijing, Ramesh told journalists that the Indian home ministry's policies were "paranoid and alarmist" regarding the "Chinese businessmen entering the industrial sector in India".Needless to say, upon his return to India, Mr Ramesh had a lot of explaining to do. Home Minister P Chidambaram promptly shot off a letter to the Prime Minister. Not only was the government shocked, even the opposition condemned this comment. Following this, the Minister met Dr Singh to explain what he meant. The PM is said to have told Ramesh that the Indian government was clear in its approach towards China.The home ministry came out with a statement of its own and said India's policies are company-specific and not country-specific. "It is wrong to say that the security establishment was biased against the Chinese," Home Secretary G K Pillai said. "Chinese companies are already present in India in a big way. They are working in a variety of sectors, including in the telecommunications sector. I don't think there is any discrimination happening from the government's side," he said.
8. RAHUL GANDHI – MAYAWATI
9. NITIN GADKARI – LALU YADAV
10. MANMOHAN SINGH – LK ADVANI
- There's no love lost between Rahul Gandhi and UP Chief Minister Mayawati. The latter has always accused the Congress party of neglecting the "Dalits", while Rahul, in his rallies, has reiterated the UP government's double standards when it comes to his constituency, Amethi. This time, he said, "The centre sends crores of rupees to UP for various welfare schemes but the money does not reach the districts and villages. Sara paisa Lucknow tak ata hai, uske agey nahin", (the money comes to Lucknow but does not go beyond it), he commented.This April, Behenji took the enmity a step further by not allowing the "crown prince of Congress" to garland Dr Ambedkar's statue on his birthday. Rahul, on his part, continued the drama by garlanding Ambedkar's picture in the Parliament.Speaking of garlands, Mayawati had a grand garland for herself, too. The garland made of money is at least Rs 20cr, alleged the Congress. Never one to lose an opportunity to get back at Maya, Rahul insisted that she misused funds meant for the poor. And then there are those infamous statues that Mayawati insisted on getting erected all around town.Reckon this isn't the last we'll hear from them.
9. NITIN GADKARI – LALU YADAV
10. MANMOHAN SINGH – LK ADVANI
- "Dogs that lick the feet of the Congress" is what the Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari called Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. At a rally in Chandigarh, Gadkari blasted the two leaders for going back on their word against the cut motion in parliament.Expectedly, the BJP was embarrassed by the way their party president conducted himself publicly. Gadkari then tried to do some damage control and apologised for his remarks and said he didn't mean to hurt anyone and that he respected Lalu and Mulayam.But Lalu Yadav proved he's not one to back down. He retaliated to that comment and called Gadkari "mentally bankrupt". He called a press conference in Patna and said, "We will give Gadkari tablets to cure his mental bankruptcy, then put him on capsules and if the tablets and capsules fail, we will put him on injection".Appearing on a news channel, Lalu said Gadkari must apologise in front of the media and only then he'd think about forgiving him. He added that even Advani never abused any leaders publicly and that in comparison, Gadkari was as good as a big zero.
10. MANMOHAN SINGH – LK ADVANI
- That LK Advani thinks Dr Manmohan Singh is a weak Prime Minister is old news. But what took many by surprise was the fact that the usually composed Dr Singh lost his cool during a Lok Sabha session.Advani, playing the opposition leader to the hilt, criticised the Manmohan government of bowing down to US pressure on India's relations with Pakistan. He said, "I want the Prime Minister to tell the Parliament what secret or other talks have taken place between India and Pakistan. If there are any secret talks happening on Kashmir between India and US, it will have serious consequences."But the PM didn't back down this time. He denied the charges Advani made against him and India's foreign policies. Dr Singh shot back at Advani by asking him how many times the then external affairs minister, Jaswant Singh, who held a number of meetings with the US officials, shared any information with the Parliament.More recently, Advani called on the PM to discuss the Karnataka government crisis and demanded the removal of HR Bharadwaj as the governor.Political face-offs can't live with them - end of story.
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