New Delhi: Legendary tennis player Martina Navratilova once again targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in her tweet, citing a news report in which Home Minister Amit Shah commented that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “not a dictator” but rather the “most democratic leader” India had ever seen.
The former tennis star got trolled for her views as she tweeted the report with a comment, “And for my next joke...”, followed by a clown emoji.
As she started to get trolled soon, and a user sought to know if she found any "difference or similarities" between the "right wing in US & India", Navratilova replied: “Same as here from right-wing trolls- they all go to the same school I think… no worries:)"
The report on Amit Shah was based on his comments in an interview she gave to Sansad TV on the occasion of PM Modi completing 20 years in public office last week.
Netizens were quick enough to respond to Navratilova's tweet, and one of the users asked "Then just tell me who is actually a democratic leader?"
The Czech-American had asked for asylum in the United States after being stripped of citizenship from Czechoslovakia in 1975. She remains one of the most successful female tennis players of all time, with 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women’s doubles titles, and 10 major mixed doubles titles to her credit.
In an earlier tweet, the tennis player had accused Modi (and former US President Donald Trump) of “trying to stifle the truth as much as possible, if that truth doesn’t suit their political purpose”.
In 2019, her first tweet against Modi pointed out at the formation of the National Registry of Citizens in Assam. She had shared an article about the policy turning 4 million people accused of being “infiltrators” stateless, saying Modi and Trump shared the same school of thought.
In the last year, the farmers' protests that began last year also saw foreign celebrities speaking up in their support. In February 2021, a tweet by Rihanna, in which she shared a story about the protests asking “Why aren’t we talking about this?!", drew the world's attention to the turmoil in India. The tweet led to many global voices, including Greta Thunberg, YouTuber Lilly Singh, climate activist Jamie Margolin, and UK MP Claudia Webbe, among others, coming in support of the farmers' protests.