Govt huddles to defend farm laws online

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday said criticism by foreign celebrities and attempts to “mobilise international support against India” on the government’s handling of the farmers’ protests without ascertaining facts were “neither accurate nor responsible” after comments by musician Rihanna and environmental activist Greta Thunberg, even as lawmakers in the US and UK, and several actors, activists and influencers sparked global clamour over the issue.

A statement from the external affairs ministry contended that “vested interest groups” were trying to enforce their agenda on the protests to derail them, and have tried to mobilise global support against India. In this context, the statement referred to “sensationalist social media hashtags and comments” by “celebrities and others” but didn’t name anyone.

It is rare for the external affairs ministry to respond to tweets by foreign celebrities critical of events within the country, though it has, in recent weeks, pushed back against comments by leaders such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and lawmakers in the UK and other countries supporting the farmers’ protest.

Unusually, the ministry’s statement on Wednesday included two hashtags - #Indiatogether and #Indiaagainstpropaganda. This is the first time hashtags were included in a statement.

As protests against three contentious farm laws have snowballed, they have attracted attention around the world, including among celebrities and lawmakers. Singer Rihanna was the most high-profile personality to take up the issue on Twitter on Tuesday. Rihanna, who has 101 million followers on Twitter and is among the highest-selling recording artistes in history, triggered a storm on Tuesday by tweeting “why aren’t we talking about this?! #Farmersprotest”, along with a link to a CNN article about the farmers’ protest.