His tweet came as cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Anil Kumble and others tweeted in support of the government's campaign.

File photo of Sandeep Sharma during an IPL gameImage: Facebook/Sandeep Sharma
news Controversy Thursday, February 04, 2021 - 16:07
TNM Staff

Even as current and former cricketers in India tweeted in support of the government on Wednesday evening, using the hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda, bowler Sandeep Sharma on Thursday hit out at the move. The two hashtags had been issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, which questioned support for the farmers’ protest in Delhi from international personalities, which saw a spike after a tweet by popular singer Rihanna.

After several others like environmental activist Greta Thunberg and former adult star Mia Khalifa also spoke up on the issue, the MEA issued a statement, which said that the protests were being done by “a small section of farmers” and said these responses were not “accurate” or “responsible.” 

Responding to claims made by many that the farmers' protest was India's 'internal matter', Sandeep Sharma tweeted, "By this logic, no one should care about each other, because every situation is someone's internal affair."

He also shared a viral social media post, which stated, "Many people, including the Indian External Affairs Ministry, have criticised the famous singer Rihanna for having supported the Indian farmers, saying it is the internal affair of India. But by that logic, no one outside Germany should have criticised the persecution of the Jews in Germany during the Nazi era. By that logic no one outside Pakistan should criticise the persecution of Ahmadis, Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians in Pakistan."

"By that logic no one outside India should criticise the lynching and other atrocities on Muslims in India, or the massacre of Sikhs in 1984. By that logic nobody outside America should criticise racism in several parts of America...By that logic, no one outside China should criticise the persecution of the Uighur Muslim minority in China. By that logic, no one outside South Africa should have condemned apartheid. By that logic, no one outside Burma should have criticised the persecution of Rohingyas in Burma. After all, these were all internal affairs of those countries," the post added.

Sandeep was last seen in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and bagged the honour of being the only bowler to dismiss Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, who plays for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), a record seven times. Sandeep is based out of Punjab and plays for their Ranji Trophy team.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at the border of Delhi since November 2020, demanding the repeal of three contentious farm laws passed by the Union government. They have also been demanding a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for their crops. Police have put up multi-layer barricades and beefed up security after violence during the Republic Day tractor parade.

Read:  

Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma join govt campaign to counter Rihanna tweet

Taapsee, Tharoor call out govt's 'counter' celebrity campaign to Rihanna's tweet

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