'The Centre should not have put reputation of Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar at stake by asking them to tweet in support of its stand', said Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. Notably, Thackeray was speaking about the ongoing controversy that erupted after the Master Blaster joined the bandwagon of actors, sportspersons, and politicians tweeting on the country's unity and farmers following international pop singer Rihanna's tweet.
"Govt shouldn't have asked big personalities like Sachin Tendulkar & Lata Mangeshkar to tweet in support of its stand & put their reputation at stake. They're recipients of Bharat Ratna. Actors like Akshay Kumar were enough for this task", said Thackeray.
He also trained his guns on PM Modi saying that the latter's slogan in support of former US President Donald Trump was 'problematic'.
"If American Rihanna and others supporting the agitation against new agriculture laws was interference in India's internal matters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slogan in support of Donald Trump too was problematic", asserted Thackeray.
A number of celebrities including Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, actors Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn, and iconic singer Lata Mangeshkar rallied around the government on social media using hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda following tweets by Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg backing farmers.
"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," the actors and cricketers tweeted, with the hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.
Bollywood actors and former cricketers reacted after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) released a statement wherein it stated that notable personalities should refrain from reacting on this issue and rather get "proper understanding of the issues".
"Many people have reacted sharply to the stand taken by them (Indian celebrities). I would advise Sachin (Tendulkar) to exercise caution while speaking about any other field," said NCP chief Sharad Pawar while interacting with reporters.
(With inputs from agencies)