'Why so much flutter if Rihanna, Greta Thurnberg lent support to farmers' demands?': Shatrughan Sinha

A Twitter war erupted throughout Wednesday and Thursday creating a sharp divide among the Indian celebrities after international pop sensation Rihanna's tweet extending support to protesting farmers in India triggered a row.

While Rihanna's tweet received support from several international celebrities like Jay Sean, Greta Thunberg, Mia Khalifa, Amanda Cerny, Lilly Singh and others, she had to face backlash from top Indian celebrities including actors and cricketers.

Several Indian cricketers and Bollywood personalities, including likes of Sachin Tendulkar, took to Twitter to stand in solidarity with the country and favoured the resolution of the ongoing government-farmer standoff without any foreign interference as they tweeted with  the hashtag #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropanganda.

In a tweet on Friday, Sinha wrote: "Why is the Govt not making genuine efforts to resolve the justified demands of our own farmers? But when Int'l pop singer Rihana asks a simple question via a tweet ...it creates a flutter. Many people aren't fully aware of the real issues with the farmers."

"While everyone is supporting our own farmers & their justified demands, why was there a flutter/commotion when Int'l celebrities  #Climate activist Greta Thunburg & especially globally popular singer @rihanna lent their support? This is very strange."

He in fact said that whether it amounted to interference too when Prime Minister Narendra Modi endorsed Donald Trump ahead of the US elections.

Speaking to NDTV, Sinha said: "Our own honourable Prime Minister, had very recently, in the United States of America had asked for 'Abki Baar Trump Sakar'. Would you take that as an interference in the internal affairs of America? No."

"Raising voice against Nazi suppression of Jews in Germany is not interference either. When we talk about Tiananmen Square, China, it doesn't mean we are interfering in China's internal affairs. So, if they are showing their concern, love and affection, it should be highly appreciated," he added.

The Congress leader also asked whether the Indian celebrities who led "the government-backed social media campaign" against tweets by Rihanna and Greta Thunberg felt compelled to join the drive.

The reactions and counter-reactions by Indian cricketers and Bollywood personalities  surfaced after Rihanna shared a news article by CNN related to farmers' protest in India's national capital and wrote: "Why aren't we talking about this #FarmersProtest?"

Prior to the series of tweets posted by the popular Indian personalities, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had called the "social media hashtags and comments" by celebrities "neither accurate nor responsible".

In a strong worded response, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said, "Before rushing to comment on such matters, we would urge that the facts be ascertained, and a proper understanding of the issues at hand be undertaken.