On Monday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that he is contemplating quitting social media from Sunday. He said that he is considering deleting his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts. Soon after the announcement, social media was abuzz with speculations on what could be the reason behind the mystery tweet. Is Prime Minister Modi really quitting social media?
Beacon of positivity and hope, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor thought that Prime Minister Modi quitting Twitter could be a prelude to ‘banning’ these services across India.
The PM’s abrupt announcement has led many to worry whether it’s a prelude to banning these services throughout the country too. As @narendramodi knows well, social media can also be a force for good & for positive & useful messaging. It doesn’t have to be about spreading hate. https://t.co/B87Y7Mc32a
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 2, 2020
This isn’t 1975, Mr Tharoor.
Hope this is not a pre-warning to shut internet of entire India – “Internet Demonitization” or “Internet abrogation” !!?? https://t.co/NwiLQNpYhL
— Jaiveer Shergill (@JaiveerShergill) March 2, 2020
Seriously, Congress leaders need to get over their Indira Gandhi hangover.
Some even had jokes up their sleeves with relatable takes.
Noone:
Every girl between the ages of 13-24 twice a year: https://t.co/KlHYLWreZh— Hi guys (@howcomeyousmell) March 2, 2020
When exam date too close
Me to my followers: https://t.co/PY7N0XI3gZ
— Night thinker v.2.0 (@Night_Owl_38) March 2, 2020
And the popular ‘how many retweets’ format.
Modiji how many retweets for you to drop this idea?
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) March 2, 2020
Some speculated that perhaps a new social media, made in India, may be on the offing and the announcement may be made on Sunday regarding the same.
I’m guessing the PM may spring an even bigger surprise & announce a new social media platform by Sunday.
He may extol Gandhi, but he follows Chanakya.
We may be about to witness the #SocialMediaDemonetization of the #FakeNews platforms.https://t.co/VVvoNfGli7
— Abhijit Chavda (@AbhijitChavda) March 3, 2020
Will be great if you come up with an Indian alternative, and we will all do a Vodafone Pug! https://t.co/oWdqh0mNf4
— Ethirajan Srinivasan (@Ethirajans) March 3, 2020
Meanwhile, Aurangzeb sympathiser who spends her waking hours painting the barbaric Mughal emperor as a fluffy bunny thought PM Modi quitting Twitter was the best news of 2020.
Hands down, best news of 2020 so far. https://t.co/uVpvYl9xHI
— Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) March 2, 2020
Pakistanis, too, could not help echoing the Indian ‘liberal’ ecosystem. Pakistani journalist, in tune with our ‘liberals’ suggested that PM could keep his Twitter but instead give up his prime ministership.
You can keep the accounts. Instead, give up being PM. https://t.co/WQ5MmaFSF8
— Nadeem Farooq Paracha (@NadeemfParacha) March 2, 2020
What exactly is PM Modi’s plan for Sunday and his social media accounts, only time will tell. But with that one tweet, PM Modi has again set the ball rolling.