Critics want to expose Modi’s ‘truths’ virtually
LUCKNOW: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s critics on Friday launched a website (www.pheku.in) in Lucknow and 24 other cities across the country to counter his online prominence.
What makes the move interesting is that the website has been developed by activists like Shabnam Hashmi of Anhad, whose NGO has been fighting for justice for the victims of the 2002 riots in Gujarat.
During the launch of the website in Lucknow, Hashmi said the website would bring out facts that had been ‘buried under mountains of lies and deceit.”
Modi’s critics have coined a word ‘pheku’ for him. They say whenever he speaks on any issue, his fans and critics immediately launch hash tags war on Twitter, a social media platform that has changed the way political discourse is conducted in the country.
Hashmi told that the website would have videos, cartoons, articles, write-ups and a lot more to “unveil the real face of Modi.”
Social activist Roop Rekha Verma said that Gujarat is a centre for domestic violence and rapes with minors.
The activists jointly said that the unique combination of Modi’s authoritarianism, his communal record and ability to lie smoothly is a fertile ground on which the newly launched website pheku.in would flourish.
Hashmi said, “Already some of his smooth lies such as Himalayan miracle have been exposed. Our investigations reveal hundreds more. All these would be available to people on the website.”
Earlier, Ahmedabad-based human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha and his t eam had launched a dedicated website www.truthofgujarat.com to “present a true picture of the state under Modi.”
Needless to mention that the Congress and its social media wings, activists and intellectuals had also taken to social media to challenge Modi and BJP, which have dominated Twitter and Facebook so far.
Is it going to be a cyber war against Modi, whose rise as a national leader from Gujarat backwaters has estranged many leaders across political outfits? Just wait and watch!