India hit out at global celebrities such as singer Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg for their support of the farmers’ protests, the focus of a sharply polarised international debate that saw several Bollywood and cricket stars and top ministers rally around the government in its pushback.
As Twitter was flooded with tweets on the nation's farmers' protest and the cutting of internet at Delhi's borders, top cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri, Gautam Gambhir came in support of the government on the ongoing protests.
Among them was the former Indian player and coach Anil Kumble who tweeted in support if the government with the hashtags #Indiatogether and #IndiaAgainstPropoganda, making a point that India can handle its internal affairs. He tweeted, "As the world's largest democracy, India is more than capable of taking her internal issues to amicable solutions. Onwards and upwards."
However, voices from within the entertainment industry backed the farmers at Singhu. Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh shared a song tribute to Rihanna for her tweet and actor Ali Fazal said the issue was not "an internal matter".
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at several Delhi border points since November last year, demanding the government to repeal the three farm laws and legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.
The protest sites have been turned into fortresses with police putting up multi-layer barricades and concertina wires to stop the movement of vehicles.
The strengthened security measures at the agitation sites across the Delhi borders come after the violence during the Republic Day tractor parade.
Published 04 February 2021, 13:43 IST