New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slip in his address to the Bhutan Parliament, where he said "Nepal" while praising the nation's royal family, became prime fodder for Twitter on Monday.
Mr Modi, who is on his first foreign visit since taking charge as prime minister, said, "I want to begin with a tribute to the Nepal...Bhutan royal family that ensured democratic values and protected people's rights..." Later, he said "Ladakh" instead of Bhutan.
The faux pas did not go unnoticed on social media, where hash-tags like #Bhutan #Nepal and #TravelTipstoModi started trending.
"PM Modi calls Bhutan as Nepal. Lol. What an epic disaster.!" tweeted Mihir Padhye.
"Today, Modi got confused b/w Bhutan & Nepal. Hope he doesn't embarrass India during UN or BRIC summits (sic)," posted Jayesh Shinde.
"Its fact Modi doesn't know Geography, that's the reason he says Nepal to Bhutan. Earlier he related Chandra Gupta Maurya & Takasila to Bihar," said MSR, referring to the controversy over alleged factual errors in Mr Modi's campaign speeches.
But Vasant Shetty disagreed with those remarks in this tweet - "Modi calling Bhutan as Nepal inside Bhutan Parliament shows even he is human being and can make mistakes."
The Prime Minister is likely to visit Nepal in August, after touring Japan.
His decision to make Bhutan his first port of call is being seen as an attempt to assert India's influence in the South Asian region and counter China