Bengaluru
Former Indian cricket captain Anil Kumble had to face a few ‘bouncers’ for supporting the Union government on the new farm laws. Kumble had joined his former teammates like Sachin Tendulkar by giving a thumbs up to #IndiaTogether hashtags to counter celebrity international tweets in support of the on-going farmers' protest on the outskirts of Delhi.
As soon as he supported the hashtgag, Samyukta Karnataka Horata, an umbrella forum of farmers in Karnataka, along with workers and Dalit organisations in Karnataka, hit back saying in a tweet, "More than 100 farmers have died ever since farmer organisations launched protests in Delhi. Even farmers in Karnataka had been protesting against the state and central government amendments to the farm laws, since September. Dear Kumble, did you ever ask these farmers as to why were they protesting? Why are you tweeting now? Your stand in the matter is very painful."
Kumble was reacting to the voices against celebrity international singer Rihanna and activists like Greta Thunberg who had tweeted in support of the protesting farmers.
Renowned Kannada writer Srinivasa Karkala said, "Human rights violations are not the internal affairs of any country."
Writer Chetan Krishna asked, "Being a Kannadiga, how could you be a mouthpiece of this vicious government?"
"No one said a word when Trump called India dirty. It is amusing to hear all the noise against the international celebrities who are empathetic with the farmers' cause. May there be some loyalty towards farmers who toil hard to feed you," wrote Rekha Srinivas, a social activist.
Kannada activist Dinesh Kumar said, "Didn't you think of the prestige and reputation of the country when you read about hundreds of farmers who died because of the cold at the protest sites? Where was your 'self respect' when farmers were attacked and fake cases being filed against them? You should be ashamed of yourself for selling yourself to the ruling party."
At the end of the day, Kumble was left stranded at the social media crease not knowing how to tackle the bouncers.
