After the legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar tweeted about the the farmers' protest being internal matter and the outsiders should just play the spectators' role and don't interfere, several other cricketers and former cricketers have come in support of the hashtags coined by the Ministry of External Affairs.
A few international voices like pop-star Rihanna and Swedish activist Greta Thunberg voiced their opinion against the internet shutdown and supported the farmers' movement. However, the MEA termed the calling out as inaccurate and irresponsible.
The Ministry of External Affairs, reacting to the support the farmers' protest was getting from international celebrities, in a release said, "Before rushing to comment on such matters, we would urge that the facts be ascertained, and a proper understanding of the issues at hand be undertaken. The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible.
"We would like to emphasise that these protests must be seen in the context of India’s democratic ethos and polity, and the efforts of the Government and the concerned farmer groups to resolve the impasse," the statement added.
After which, many Indian celebrities from all walks of life supported the MEA's arguments by using the two hastags, #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.
After Tendulkar and Pragyan Ojha earlier, current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, head coach Ravi Shastri, former Indian player and coach Anil Kumble and left-handed opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan too tweeted in support of the two hastags amplifying that India is more than capable to handle its internal matters.
Following the trend India's limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, India's Test deputy Ajinkya Rahane, former Indian opener and now a BJP MP Gautam Gambhir and all-rouder Hardik Pandya too supported the hastag India Together on their Twitter accounts.
Here are the tweets:
