Amidst the ongoing controversy over remarks made by several celebrities including Sachin Tendulkar about ongoing farmers’ protest, former Rajya Sabha MP and RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tewari sparked a row by saying that the former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar “did not deserve to get Bharat Ratna”.
Remarks by Tewari came in a protest to the cricketing legend’s tweets about international personalities commenting on the farm laws.
“This is an insult to the Bharat Ratna that people like Sachin Tendulkar are conferred with such a prestigious award,” news agency IANS had quoted RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwari as saying, earlier in the day.
He had also alleged that the Union government “fielded” Sachin Tendulkar to “counter” international personalities who recently commented on the ongoing farmers’ protests, and said it was an insult to the nation.
Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Shashti and Shikhar Dhawan on Wednesday joined Bollywood celebrities Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar and Karan Johar to support the Centre in their fight against “international propoganda” regarding the farmers’ protest.
The tweet spree was launched after the international celebrities including pop icon Rihanna, activist Greta Thunberg, vlogger Amanda Cerny and US Vice President Kamala Harris’ niece Meena stood in support of the farmers’ protest.
“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. #IndiaTogether #IndiaAgainstPropaganda,” Sachin Tendulkar had tweeted.
Thousands of farmers across the country have been protesting against the farm laws which were enacted in September. The three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.
However, the protesting farmers have expressed the apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the MSP and do away with the “mandi” (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.
Source: Free Press Journal
