Congress wants Sachin Tendulkar, Akshay, Saina & others' tweets probed; asks Maha govt

In a shocking development, the Congress has sought a probe into the tweets by Sachin Tendulkar, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and others after they spoke in support of India and for unity in light of foreign celebs entering the farmers' protest row. According to sources, the Maharashtra government, via Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, assured Congress' Sachin Sawant over a Zoom call that the state intelligence department will probe whether Sachin Tendulkar and others were pressurised to tweet by the Centre. 

Many celebrities including Tendulkar, legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, Suniel Shetty, Saina Nehwal and others backed the government on social media using hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda following tweets by pop singer Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg backing farmers. Last week, NCP president Sharad Pawar said that Sachin Tendulkar should be more careful while speaking on farmers' issues.

'India's sovereignty cannot be compromised' 

"India's sovereignty cannot be compromised. External forces can be spectators but not participants. Indians know India and should decide for India. Let's remain united as a nation," Tendulkar had tweeted.

The legendary singer also joined Indian personalities, including actors Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn, in expressing support for the government's stand on the ongoing farmers' protests, saying that the country is capable of solving problems "amicably". Mangeshkar's statement came after the Ministry of External Affairs reacted sharply to comments by Rihanna, Greta Thunberg and others on farmers' protests.

Sachin Tendulkar's poster smeared with oil 

The "temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments is neither accurate nor responsible, the Ministry of External Affairs said. Following his tweets, Tendulkar's poster was smeared with black oil by members of Kerala's Youth Congress. The cricketing legend has been subject to extensive criticism by several factions for calling out the propaganda by 'external forces'.

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 '#NationWithSachin'

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.

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