#WorstPMModi trends on Twitter
What makes a leader ‘the worst’? India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come under criticism on various counts, but it was a diamond that seemed to have opened the floodgates on social media, with #WorstPMModi trending on Twitter yesterday.
The Kohinoor is a topic close to the heart of most Indians. Many believe the country was robbed of the jewel when colonised by the British prior to independence, so the Indian government’s statement challenging that presumption did not go down too well on social media.
“#WorstPMModi Kohinoor was gifted? So now we must rewrite our history that our freedom was also gifted to the British. Spineless @BJP4India,” tweeted Mohan Polamar under the handle @ mopolymer.
And once the hashtag caught on, Twitter users used it to highlight many other fronts on which they felt disappointed by the current government.
Many promises
Noting the many promises made by Modi during his election campaign, Twitter user @NavenduSingh gave each one of his campaign promises a clear ‘thumbs down’ in a tweet — from launching a bullet train; promising that all the black money smuggled out of the country would be brought back and consequently every citizen would get Rs1,500,000 (Dh83,110) in their bank accounts; and the now infamous ‘acche din’ (good days).
Another Twitter user, @DocVatsa, broke down the ‘good days’ in a picture showing a dip in foreign direct investment from 2013 to 2016, writing: “From FDI to domestic circumstances, everything is a stupendous failure! High on octane low on action! #WorstPMModi”
Another user, @Barkha_Kabir, commented on the nationalism debate surrounding the slogan “Bharat Mata ki Jai” (Victory to Mother India), posting a cartoon, which showed drought-hit farmers being refused water until they proved their ‘nationalism’, writing: “Farmers are treated badly & the law makers of our India forcing them to chant BMKJ #WeWontChantBMKJ #WorstPMModi.”
But as most political Twitter wars in India go, the predictable players could be seen pushing their rhetoric — the social media cells of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While many AAP supporters and members posted failures of the current central government, BJP supporters claimed that the hashtag was nothing more than a sham.
When Twitter user @TriptiShukla criticised Modi with the tweet, “No control over Corruption. No control over Inflation. No new Job Oppurtunities. No improvement in [Rupee] Vs $ #WorstPMModi,” another user @SwiftieInStyle hit back, asking: “@ TriptiShukla_ Oh wait! Which scam [have] you heard about in these few years?”
Other supporters also highlighted Modi’s corruption-free record with @imthenitin writing: “Of course he is #WorstPMModi! After all, government employees were forced to be punctual and their pockets got lighter too!”