New Delhi: Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said on Monday, February 8, that the state government will investigate tweets by celebrities who posted similarly in response to the global support to the farmers’ protest.
“It has been revealed that there were same posts by celebrities and at the same time. Hence it will be investigated why it has happened,” NDTV reported Deshmukh as having said.
Deshmukh, a senior NCP leader, made these remarks after the Congress sought investigation into the BJP’s alleged connection to the tweets posted by celebrities and whether they were “arm-twisted” to issue such tweets.
Deshmukh said the state intelligence department will probe the allegations.
Also read: Stumped by a Tweet: The Irrelevance of Indian Cricketers
Many celebrities including cricketers past and present like Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, singer Lata Mangeshkar, actors Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Ajay Devgn and badminton player Saina Nehwal posted tweets supporting the Central government on social media, using hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.
Their tweets came shortly after the Ministry of External Affairs issued a rejoinder claiming that the farmers’ protests were ‘internal matter’, following tweets by Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg backing farmers who are protesting near Delhi border.
‘BJP twisting issue’
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said it was necessary to probe the “mental state” of those who demanded the investigation and those who ordered it. He said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) should feel ashamed while using the word “probe” for Bharat Ratna awardees.
Fadnavis also invoked Maratha pride.
Has this MVA Govt lost all it’s senses❓
MVA should feel ashamed while using the word ‘probe’ for BharatRatnas❗️
Actually, now it seems necessary to probe the mental state & stability of the ones who made such demand & of people who ordered probe against our BharatRatnas ❗️— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) February 8, 2021
Hitting back at Fadnavis, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant accused the BJP of deliberately trying to twist the issue.
Bjp is trying to deliberately twist the issue. We have demanded probe of BJP not celebrities. Why bjp is keeping mum on why tweets of Akshay Kumar and Saina Nehwal are matching with each other? Why Suniel Shetty tags his tweet to a BJP office bearer? Why bjp is scared of probe? https://t.co/jvmPewP6R3 pic.twitter.com/DQKy17phpX
— Sachin Sawant सचिन सावंत (@sachin_inc) February 8, 2021
He said the Congress demaned the “probe of the BJP (connection to the tweets)”, and not of celebrities.
#WATCH | There was series of tweets after MEA’s response to Rihanna’s tweet. If a person opines on their own, it’s fine but there’s scope of suspicion that BJP could be behind this…Spoke to HM Deshmukh. He has given orders to Intelligence dept to probe: Congress’ Sachin Sawant pic.twitter.com/kutYYJjxqG
— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2021
“Why BJP is keeping mum on why tweets of Akshay Kumar and Saina Nehwal are matching with each other? Why Suniel Shetty tags his tweet to a BJP office bearer? Why BJP is scared of probe?” Sawant tweeted.
He further questioned why the drafts of most of the tweets are identical and have the same word “amicable” mentioned in them.
The irony of Indian @NSaina and Canadian @akshaykumar posting exactly same tweet, word to word, with the hashtag India against Propaganda while being part of the Propaganda pic.twitter.com/4BbBoeNdWq
— Joy (@Joydas) February 3, 2021