Rahul Gandhi has coined the "Chowkidar chor hai (the watchman is a thief)" slogan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Main Bhi Chowkidar" campaign, which saw all BJP leaders rush to add "Chowkidar" to their Twitter handles, drew barbs from across the opposition. Leading the group was Congress, whose chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted that the truth "cannot be extinguished". There was a P.S.
"You can keep trying Mr Modi, but the truth cannot be extinguished. Every Indian is saying it. #ChowkidarChorHai P.S: Do force Sushma ji to add "Chowkidar" to her handle. It's looking very bad," he posted.
The party's senior leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram joked that he has also been forced to join the bandwagon.
"Main bhi chowkidhar because the chowkidhar I had appointed is missing. I am told he has gone looking for achhe din," his tweet read.
Congress's Jyotiraditya Scindia questioned who would save the country if "chowkidars" were all like the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister's Twitter campaign, announced yesterday, comes on the heels of relentless Congress attacks on the 36-aircraft Rafale deal negotiated by his government.
Rahul Gandhi, who has coined the "Chowkidar chor hai (the watchman is a thief)" slogan, alleges the government has negotiated an overpriced deal to help Anil Ambani's rookie defence firm bag an offset contract from Dassault, the manufacturer of the aircraft. The government and Dassault have both denied the allegation.
Today, minutes after PM Modi added "Chowkidar" to his twitter title, BJP leaders and ministers followed suit. From Union minister Arun Jaitley to party chief Amit Shah, and even foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, added "Chowkidar" to their Twitter handles.
Along with Congress, the leaders of other parties took a dig at PM Modi and his party.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said dearth of jobs force youths to take up jobs of watchmen. In a Hindi tweet, he also said the campaign was an insult to farmers who have to stay up all night to guard their crops.