Rhiya Ahir, Shehzad Poonawalla on Bigg Boss 20, Rahul Gandhi and age: ‘Leave women alone’ | Today’s news
Rhiya Ahir, a Mumbai model who gained attention after a video of her stopping a police van during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests went viral, got into a public spat with former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla after he mocked her for not making it to Bigg Boss 20.
Ahir responded over two reels, using the first to take a sarcastic dig at Poonawalla before saying she had seen his video of her and was flattered by it. She then asked him to stay out of her personal life, accusing him of “backing young girls into a corner” in the past.
She also called for them to “leave women alone”.
The 28-year-old model also pointed out that Poonawalla, 38, was more than twice her age and urged him to focus on politics involving people of his own age group rather than “little girls”.
Ahir denied any connection with the political figures mentioned by Poonawalla and claimed that the allegations against her followed a script which she claimed was used by several other influencers. She also sarcastically suggested that the repeated allegations could be related to the payments being made.
In response to Poonawalla’s claim that he disrespected the Indian Army, Ahir challenged him to provide evidence. She asked when she had ever shown disrespect to the military, any profession, institution, religion or individual.
Ahir also rejected the suggestion that Bigg Boss could serve as a platform for political messages.
Read also | Shehzad Poonawalla urges BJP to accept resignation, cites personal reasons
“Namaste, dear Shehzaabe, Shehbazi, Shehzaab, Poonawala uncle. I just saw the reel you made about me. Well, I’m flattered. But at the same time, I just want to ask you to keep your big nose out of my personal affairs and life,” she said.
She added, “If you want to claim that someone is disrespecting the Indian Army, show me the proof. Where have I ever disrespected the Indian Army or any professional or any institution or religion or anyone?”
“If you watch Bigg Boss, you would know that you cannot promote ecosystem, political agendas and even religion on Bigg Boss as it is purely for entertainment purposes. Politics, women, religion is not entertainment,” she said in her second video.
“Leave the women alone, leave the temple alone, leave Instagram alone and leave girls half your age alone,” concluded Ahir.
What did Poonawalla say?
In a post on X, Poonawalla mocked Ahir for not making it to the Bigg Boss house, saying, “I’m sorry you got kicked out even before you entered the Bigg Boss house.”
Read also | Meet Rhiya Ahir, Mumbai, whose standing in front of a police van has gone viral
He also dragged Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi into the exchange, writing, “Perhaps you should have known better that Rahul Gandhi cannot win his own election, aapko kya jitayega (how will he make you win).”
Poonawalla clarified that his earlier video was mainly about journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani and that Ahir was only mentioned in passing. “Third, the video was on Arfa, you were random,” he wrote, adding, “But you know I understand behavior that demands attention.”
Read also | BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla’s mother was seriously injured in the accident
He also took a look at Ahir’s now canceled premium subscription on Instagram and wrote, “Next time try posing in front of a plane, maybe you’ll get something more than the Rs140 subscription!”
Responding to Ahir’s remarks about their age difference, Poonawalla said, “You’re 28, you’re not a ‘young girl’ and I’m 38, so technically I’m not twice your age.”
He followed it up with another shout-out, saying, “It’s clear that maths was never your strong suit at school,” joking that Ahir must have mistaken him for “another 56-year-old Rahul Gandhi.”
Poonawalla concluded his response by saying that Ahir’s remarks “do not deserve attention” and suggested that “another podcast with Arfa might help”.
Rahul Gandhi-Riya Ahir meeting
In August, Ahir appeared alongside Gandhi at a press conference in New Delhi, where she spoke about the online abuse she faced after her viral protest. Ahir said she was subjected to severe trolling, harassment and targeted abuse after the video gained widespread attention.
She also alleged that the local authorities delayed registering a formal First Information Report (FIR) due to the cyber abuse directed against her. Gandhi condemned the intimidation faced by young activists and expressed support for Ahir.
