Farmers protest: Lata Mangeshkar, Tendulkar & Virat Kohli support govt campaign to counter Rihanna's tweet

Bollywood and Cricket personalities Lata Mangeshkar, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli have reacted to the Ministry of External Affairs' statement slamming international celebrities and entities for comments on the ongoing farmers' protest in India.

Earlier Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Karan Johar, and Suneil Shetty reacted to the ongoing farmers' protest in India.

Reacting to it and other International stars supporting the farmers' protests, Lata Mangeshkar wrote, "Namaskar...India is a glorious nation and we all Indians stand with our heads held high. As a proud Indian, I have full faith, that any issues or problems that as a country we face; we are fully equipped to resolve them amicably, keeping the interest of our people in mind. Jai Hind."

While Sachin wrote,"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."

Virat Kohli wrote,"Let us all stay united in this hour of disagreements. Farmers are an integral part of our country and I'm sure an amicable solution will be found between all parties to bring about peace and move forward together. #IndiaTogether"

The Ministry of External Affairs, in its statement, said that the government has passed the laws "after a full debate and discussion" and has "initiated a series of talks" to address the farmers' issues. The statement also condemned the violence that broke out during the protests on Republic Day.

The MEA also condemned celebrities, who have drawn attention to the farmers' protest on social media.

"The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible," the statement read alongside hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.

The MEA's response came after American pop star Rihanna extended support to the farmers' protest. "Why aren't we talking about this?!", Rihanna tweeted on Tuesday, along with the hashtag '#FarmersProtest'.

Soon after Rihanna's tweet, several other prominent international celebrities and activists including Jay Sean, Amanda Cerny, Lilly Singh, and Greta Thunberg came out in support of the farmers.

Several other celebrities including Priyanka Chopra, Sonam Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh, have also spoken in support of the farmers.

Farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws: Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Let us all stay united in this hour of disagreements. Farmers are an integral part of our country and I'm sure an amicable solution will be found between all parties to bring about peace and move forward together. #IndiaTogether

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) February 3, 2021

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 (@sachin_rt) February 3, 2021

#IndiaTogether#IndiaAgainstPropagandapic.twitter.com/JpUKyoB4vn

— Lata Mangeshkar (@mangeshkarlata) February 3, 2021