Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday claimed his earlier statement regarding the tweets by celebrities on the farmers’ protest was presented in a distorted manner, adding the preliminary inquiry has brought forward the names of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell head and 12 influencers.


“I never meant that inquiry was going to be of celebrities. Lata Mangeshkar is godlike for us. And every countryman respects Sachin Tendulkar. There is no question of their inquiry,” Deshmukh told the media. 


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“What I had meant was that inquiry will be done into the role of the BJP IT cell. And preliminary inquiry has brought to fore the names of BJP IT cell head and twelve influencers and further probe is on in the matter,” he added.


Deshmukh, who recently recovered from COVID-19, had earlier said the state intelligence department will conduct a probe into allegations that some celebrities were pressurised recently to issue tweets in connection with the farmers' protest.


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Earlier, a number of prominent personalities, including legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, rallied around Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government on micro-blogging platform Twitter using hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda following tweets by international pop sensation Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg backing the farmers protesting against the three new farm laws.