What you need to know:
- Indian Prime Minister changes name to 'Chowkidar' Narendra Modi on twitter.
- This is part of his new campaign for 'new India'.
Dubai: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent social media users into a frenzy, after he changed his handle on twitter to “Chowkidar Narendra Modi”.
This came a day after Modi launched a campaign on social media called “Main Bhi Chowkidar” (I am also a watchman), just a month before the Indian elections.
Following Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah and Union Minister Piyush Goel also added the word ‘Chowkidar’ before their twitter titles. The hashtag #MainBhiChowkidar became a worldwide trend on social media.
On March 16, Saturday, Modi put up a video post on Twitter, with the caption: “Your Chowkidar [watchman] is standing firm and 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.”
His post received more than 130,000 likes and 48,000 retweets.
In the video, people of all ages are singing a Hindi song with the catchphrase “Main bhi Chowkidar hoon” (I am also a watchman). It talks about dreams for ‘naya Bharat’ or new India and showcases people combating corruption, and discusses the importance of being truthful.
Other similar videos are being shared by BJP party members with #MainBhiChowkidar.
The campaign and the posts had mixed reactions. While some users praised the Prime Minister for his initiative, others accused him of being a hypocrite.
Tweep @AB_BJP posted: “#MainBhiChowkidar Our chowkidar is Honest, our Chowkidar is Trustworthy, our Chowkidar is a Patriot, our Chowkdar is True, Our Chowkidar is DeshSevak (servant of the country), our Chowkidar is Hardworking, our Chowkidar is Effective, our Chowkidar is Result Oriented…come what may, I stand with #MainBhiChowkidar.”
While Twitter user @SwamiGeetika posted: “Watch how Indian’s most beloved Prime Minister has changed the way India is perceived around the world and we couldn’t be prouder of him…#MainBhiChowkidar #DeshRakshakModi.”
Some tweeps used #ChowkidarChorHai to troll Modi.
Former Chief Executive Officer of GlobalFoundries @JhaSanjay replied to Modi’s tweet and said: “Modi Ji, you are not alone. Totally agree. You have Anil Ambani, Gautam Adani, Nirav Chhota Modi, Mehul Bhai Choksi, Vijay Mallya, Essar. Long list, boss. #ChowkidarChorHai.”
According to an article by Indian website scroll.in, in order to boost the hashtag, Modi’s account was sending ‘Thank you’ tweets to users who shared the hashtag. However, yesterday, these messages reached a few parody accounts, one of which was apparently a parody account for international fugitive Nirav Modi.
Many users noticed the blunder and accused the Prime Minister of being a ‘chor’ (thief). The Nirav Modi tweet was later deleted.
