NEW DELHI: Several Bollywood celebrities and sportspersons took to social media on Wednesday urging the country to stand 'united' as the ongoing farmers agitation against the new agri laws drew widespread international attention on social media platforms.
The latest to join the '
India against propaganda
' hashtag on Twitter was sports star Sachin Tendulkar who took to the social media platform saying that "external forces" can observe but cannot participate, in an indirect reference to farmers protests.
The hashtag started trending on the platform after Indian celebs tweeted in support of government's response slamming international comments on the farmers protests which had started in November 2020.
Tendulkar referred to as the 'God of Indian cricket' urged people to "remain united as a nation".
Earlier in the day, Bollywood celebrities Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Karan Johar, and Suneil Shetty had also urged people to "not fall for false propaganda against India" and to "take a comprehensive view of things".
On Wednesday, ministry of external affairs in its statement said that the government has passed the laws "after a full debate and discussion" and has "initiated a series of talks" to address the farmers' issues. The statement also condemned the violence that broke out during the protests on Republic Day.
The MEA also condemned celebrities, who have drawn attention to the farmers' protest on social media.
"The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible," the statement read alongside hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.
MEA's response came after American pop star Rihanna extended support to the farmers protests. "Why aren't we talking about this?!", Rihanna tweeted on Tuesday, along with the hashtag #FarmersProtest.
Soon after Rihanna's tweet, several other prominent international celebrities and activists including Jay Sean, Amanda Cerny, Lilly Singh, and Greta Thunberg came out in support of the farmers.
Several other celebrities including Priyanka Chopra, Sonam Kapoor,
Diljit Dosanjh, have also spoken in support of the farmers.
Farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws: Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
(With inputs from agencies)
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