Were celebs under pressure? Maharashtra to probe tweets post Rihanna remark

New Delhi: In the wake of comments by celebrities on the ongoing farmers’ protest, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday ordered a probe into tweets by Indian celebrities.

There was a series of tweets after MEA’s response to Rihanna’s tweet. If a person, be it a celebrity, opine on their own, it’s fine but there’s a scope of suspicion that BJP could be behind this. We have cited common words like ‘amicable’ in these tweets, Sachin Sawant said

If BJP is intimidating our national heroes, they should be provided security. Spoke to Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and he said it is a serious matter. He has given orders to the Intelligence department to probe into this: Congress leader Sachin Sawant

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2021

If BJP is intimidating our national heroes, they should be provided security. Spoke to Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and he said it is a serious matter. He has given orders to the Intelligence department to probe into this, informed Sachin Sawant.

Several celebrities including Lata Mangeshkar, Akshay Kumar, Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar tweeted with #IndiaAgainstPropaganda and #IndiaTogether, after Rihanna and Greta Thunberg posted tweets backing the farmer protests.

“National heroes should be provided security if BJP is intimidating them. I spoke to Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and he said it is a serious matter. He has given orders to the Intelligence department to probe into this,” the Congress leader said.

#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

He further emphasised that celebrities can and should be allowed to speak up for the country if they want to and added that there should be an investigation to see if the BJP has a role to play in the tweets.

“They can speak for the country if they want of their own free will. We want an investigation to see if there is any pressure from the BJP. Was there any arm twisting? These things have happened before,” he said.

Earlier on Saturday, days after Sachin Tendulkar made comments about the farmers’ protest, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday asked the former Indian skipper to “exercise caution while speaking about other fields”.

Sachin Tendulkar said ‘external forces can be spectators but not participants’.

“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,” Sachin tweeted.