India cricketer Suresh Raina's Facebook post supporting JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar has divided 'supporters' into two camps -- those who hail his stand and those who accuse him of being an 'anti-national'
India cricketer Suresh Raina's social media post supporting JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar led to his 'supporters' being divided in two camps - those who backed his stand and those who accused him of being anti-national.
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Raina became the latest in a long line of celebrities to be trolled for 'anti-national' statements by right-wing fanatics. Raina joined the likes of Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and sports personalities like Martina Navratilova in being targetted by 'nationalists'.
SURESH RAINA'S POST
But there were a lot of supporters who stood up for the cricketer as well. Raina’s post got over 23,000 likes and has been shared over 3,000 times.
Raina posted his statement after watching Kanhaiya's interview on a leading news channel on Friday and watching his explosive speech at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus, right after the union leader was granted bail.
Raina said on his Facebook account that he was saluting Kanhaiya Kumar, who was a true fighter and spoke every word honestly.
Talking about the speech, Raina said, "#kanhaiya on @ndtv right now… Beauty!!! Can just feel the honesty in every word..Respect him true fighter and honest man salute you."
Raina's post led to 'nationalists' trolling him over the weekend.
SOME OF THE RESPONSE FROM HIS SUPPORTERS AND HATERS
While some posts and tweets expressed disappointment that Raina had let down his fans by supporting an anti-national, others abused him, calling him a 'freak', 'traitor' and 'anti-national'.
But there were many who bucked the trend and stood up for Raina. These supporters appreciated the cricketer’s "admirable gesture" and tried to push back the 'haters'.