PM Modi asks people to take ‘main bhi chowkidar’ pledge
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged people on social media to take the “main bhi chowkidar” (I too am a watchman) pledge, in what appeared to be a doubling down on an anti-corruption campaign that has also been used mockingly by Congress president Rahul Gandhi to target the PM.
At 9am, Modi’s personal Twitter account @narendramodi sent a tweet with a video and the hashtag Mainbhichowkidar, prompting a response from Gandhi. In a tweet of his own, the Congress president attached an image carrying the same hashtag and the face of the PM and several industrialists the opposition leader has said were beneficiaries of the government’s allegedly corrupt practices.
“Your Chowkidar is standing firm & serving the nation. But, I am not alone. Everyone who is fighting corruption, dirt, social evils is a Chowkidar. Everyone working hard for the progress of India is a Chowkidar. Today, every Indian is saying - #Mainbhichowkidar,” the prime minister wrote on Twitter, where the topic went viral for most part of the day.
“Defensive tweet Mr Modi. You feeling a little guilty today?” tweeted Gandhi, who has often used “chowkidar chor hai” (the watchman is a thief) as a catchphrase to target the PM. The opposition leader’s allegations are centred around the Rafale deal and the alleged loan frauds carried out by industrialists
MODI’S TWEET WAS REPOSTED BY SEVERAL UNION MINISTERS AND OTHER BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY LEADERS
such as Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya – both of whom were pictured in the image posted by Gandhi.
Modi has often described himself as a “chowkidar” who would neither allow corruption nor get corrupted himself, and the government has denied any wrongdoing over the jet deal and loan fraud cases.
Supporters of both sides used the hashtag posted by Modi, triggering a social media war that included at least 500,000 tweets throughout the day.
By late evening, the official twitter handles of the BJP (@Bjp4india) and Congress (@Incindia) also traded barbs. The Congress account posted purported snapshots of Modi replying on twitter to parody accounts with names similar to some of the people accused of corruption – a post that the BJP handle said used “photoshopped” images. “For decades, your leaders have used those techniques to loot, plunder and ruin India,” the party tweeted.
Modi’s tweet had been reposted by several Union ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders as well.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Modi was the “only chowkidar who is a thief”.
The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to begin on April 11 this year and will continue till May 19, a period till when campaign messaging is expected to turn bitter and scathing. The elections will be held in seven phases with the counting of votes on May 23.