By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, Feb 9:
Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has ordered investigation into tweets related to farm protests, by celebrities, including legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar and cricket maestro Sachin Tendulakar, both Bharat Ratna awardes..
The probe has been ordered by Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on the ground that most of the tweets were identical and the tweeters seem to be prompted by some other person.
He said, “On January 26, the scene changed all of a sudden. There were efforts made to discredit the farmers’ agitation. Farmers were holding a peaceful agitation and now things are slowly coming out on how a conspiracy was being hatched to malign them.”
“Are these tweets posted under some pressure? Were they forced to do the same? Our intelligence agencies will look into it. How are the tweets of Akshay Kumar and Saina Nehwal the same? This will be looked into. Suniel Shetty’s tweet, wherein a BJP leader is tagged, is before us as well. And, the matter will now be investigated,” said Anil Deshmukh.
Deshmukh said that the state government agencies would probe whether celebrities such as Sachin Tendulkar, actor Akshay Kumar and shuttler Saina Nehwal have posted messages on Twitter on the issues arising out of protest against three farm laws under any pressure.
The Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant alleged that celebrities tweeting on the farmers’ agitation in response to international pop icon Rihanna’s tweet are doing so under pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
However the (MVA) government’s decision to probe ‘identical’ tweets posted by various celebrities of farmers’ protest controversy has come under Opposition attack.
Hours after Deshmukh ordered an investigation in celebrity tweets, BJP leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis questioned the state government’s sanity. He said that the MVA government had lost all its senses as it ordered a probe against Bharat Ratnas like Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar.
“Has this MVA Govt lost all its senses? MVA should feel ashamed while using the word ‘probe’ for BharatRatnas! Actually, now it seems necessary to probe the mental state and stability of the ones who made such demand and of people who ordered probe against our Bharat Ratnas!” Fadnavis said in a tweet.
In another tweet, the former CM claimed that such a probe was ‘disgusting and highly deplorable’. “Where is your Marathi Pride now? Where is your Maharashtra Dharma? We will never find such ‘ratnas’ (gems) in the entire nation who order probe against Bharat Ratnas who always stand strong in one voice for our nation,” he said.
Another BJP leader, Ram Kadam, produced a collage of tweets with similar wordings and asked if such tweets would also be investigated. “Congress leaders and the Maharashtra government should carefully read the tweets of the following celebrities. All are in the language of Congress. Will you take action against all these celebrities now? Why bother our
Lata Didi and Sachin? Ram Kadam tweeted in Marathi.
However Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said that the investigation is against the BJP, and not the celebrities. “The 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?” Sawant alleged that the BJP had the capacity to arm twist the celebrities in to tweeting in its favour.
“There is a great possibility that some celebrities may have been arm-twisted by BJP? Those need to be given protection. Those who have opined on their own their opinion must be respected. BJP is capable of pressuring celebrities. Hence, this possibility must be ruled out. It is the duty of the MVA government to provide atmosphere where every individual can exercise their right of freedom of speech without any pressure, even if the pressure is from the Modi government,” Sachin Sawant’s tweets said.
