Rihanna supports India's farmers protest

Image source: AFP

International pop star Rihanna on Tuesday extended her support to the ongoing farmers' agitation while criticising the Internet shutdown at the protest site. The 32-year-old singer became the first global star to voice her support for the protest. "Why aren't we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest," Rihanna wrote on Twitter alongside a CNN news article headlined, "India cuts internet around New Delhi as protesting farmers clash with police".

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at several Delhi border points since November end, demanding the government to repeal the three farm laws and legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.

The tweet by Rihanna, who has 100 million followers on the microblogging site, garnered thousands of retweets and likes within an hour.

Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker lauded the "Diamond" hitmaker's remarks, while Kangana Ranaut criticised her statement. Farmer unions on Monday announced a countrywide 'chakka jam' on February 6 when they would block national and state highways for three hours in protest against the Internet ban in areas near their agitation sites, harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities, and other issues.

Sites of the farmer protest at Delhi's borders have turned into fortresses with the police beefing up security and putting up multi-layer barricades to stop the movement of vehicles. Barbed wire has also been put up to keep off people on foot. The strengthened security measures at the agitation sites across the Delhi borders come after the violence during the Republic day tractor parade by protesting farmers in which 394 security personnel were injured

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