Karnataka Congress leader and social media head Divya Spandana took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his description of ‘TOP’. PM Modi in Karnataka said farmers are his top priority and described ‘TOP’ as tomato, onion and potato. She exclaimed her wonder if he was on “pot”, a hallucinogenic plant. The BJP wasn’t happy and assuming her reference was a plant.
Congress on inviting outrage
Ms Spandana’s swipe invited sharp criticism with the BJP terming it as an insult to common people. She was called out for using the word “POT” in a tweet.
Is this what happens when you’re on POT? pic.twitter.com/fwSATJoQoP
— Ramya/Divya Spandana (@divyaspandana) February 4, 2018
BJP attacked her for her choice of words. Meanwhile, BJP IT expert Amit Malviya drew attention to the farmer suicides in Karnataka. He wondered whether Congress president Rahul Gandhi would suspend her like he did senior leader Mani Shankar Aiyar.
In Karnataka, more than 3,500 farmers have committed suicide under @siddaramaiah’s watch, highest for any state in India but speaking for them is being on ‘POT’… Congress keeps it classy, again… pic.twitter.com/CywRWps9Qq
— Amit Malviya (मोदी का परिवार) (@amitmalviya) February 4, 2018
Malviya asked in a tweet:
Will Rahul Gandhi maintain silence on Divya Spandana’s comment while he sacked Mani Shankar Aiyar just because his jibe came close to Gujarat election and Karnataka is still some months away? Or sacrificing his close aide, responsible for his rise as a leader, takes some courage?
— Amit Malviya (मोदी का परिवार) (@amitmalviya) February 4, 2018
You didn’t want to tag me cos you didn’t want people to watch the Modi video pinned on my timeline? Come on! Be a sport-
And hey, POT = Potato 🥔 Onion Tomato 🍅 what were you thinking? 😉 https://t.co/zOEthGQry8— Ramya/Divya Spandana (@divyaspandana) February 4, 2018
Without taking or tagging the two exchanged tweets waging the war on microblogging level.
The ground of twitter drama
The whole drama erupted on PM explaining his version of TOP. He had said:
“Farmers producing fruits and vegetables are our ‘TOP’ priority.’TOP’ means ‘Tomato, Onion and Potato’. We have launched ‘Operation Green’ in the interest of these farmers. ‘Operation Green’ would be beneficial for farmers just like the Amul model was successful in dairy.”