Ever since Sachin Tendulkar came out in support of the government over the stalemate with the well-off farmers of Punjab, sections of Congress leaders/functionaries have been found to be targeting the legendary former cricketer. Congress MP Jasbir S Gill has accused Sachin of toeing the line of the Modi government in order to ensure that his son, Arjun Tendulkar, finds a spot in the IPL. He also accused Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar of possessing low IQ.

The other day, a Kerala unit of Rahul-Sonia Gandhi's party poured out black oil on a cut-out of the Master Blaster. All this is peeving sections of Netizens.

Columnist Kunal Singh said that it all shows the party's antipathy towards meritocracy. "It is no surprise that Congress has a problem with Sachin Tendulkar. After all, he came from a middle-class family, worked hard, and became the best in the world. Tendulkar is the epitome of meritocracy— a concept which Congress hasn’t known for multiple generations," he tweeted.

There is a view that the party is targeting Sachin because it expected him to toe its line because it had nominated him for Rajya Sabha and gave him Bharat Ratna when the UPA was in power.