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It was meant to be an interview that would test the waters for a more meaningful interaction with the mainstream media ahead of the national elections to be held very soon.And despite several requests from various national news networks, PM aspirant and Gujarat Chief minister, Narendra Modi chose a foreign agency to give his first interview after taking over his new role as BJPs election committee head. While many say that this was meant to be a clever strategy to get a wider reach on foreign shores and project his image as a progressive & industry oriented next generation leader, it looks like the move has backfired due to a comment made in the interview.
In an interview given to Reuters,Narendra Modi in his reaction to a question on Gujarat riots in 2002, said, ''If someone else is driving a car and we’re sitting behind, even then if a puppy comes under the wheel, will it be painful or not. Of course, if I’m a chief minister or not, I’m a human being. If something bad happens anywhere, it is natural to be sad.” This reply has been taken in different context by different political parties.
But as always,Modi's social media playground, Twitter is flooded with comments along with funny pictures of pugs,some under the wheel of a car.
Sample some of them
The Brown Brumby @brownbrumby2h
Due to sudden panic in the puppy population of Gujarat, some have employed camouflage techniques to save thr lives.
Kiran Kumar S @KiranKS19h
Tonight there's an #exotic puppy party in an undisclosed location in Narendra Modi's Gujarat- "Seculars" welcome:)
Pawan Khera @Pawankhera19h
Shahrukh Khan's next movie - 'My name is Khan, and I'm not a #Puppy'
Shreekant Sahu @SahuSKNT2h
APCO to Modi: See, what happens when we are not around. #Puppy
rupa subramanya @RupaSubramanya20h
#Puppy under a car. So cute. pic.twitter.com/GeUQZN89GW
The 'puppy' topic also witnessed high interest on facebook, with many sharing photos of shoe brand, Hush puppies, as the preferred brand of Narendra Modi.
And dog lovers were also not to be left behind with many wondering why should humans think it is demeaning to be compared with dogs, considered to be one of the most loyal pets among all animals. Some also went to the extent of saying that dogs may end up taking offence to be compared with human beings.
And not to be left behind, satire website, Unreal times has come out with its own photo feature on how the comment evoked reactions from both the political class and the animal kingdom.
It cannot be denied that the recently formed congress social media team is doing its best to milk the 'puppy' controversy after its own war of words with the BJP social media cell that had described Rahul Gandhi as 'Pappu'. Congress supporters had then hit out against Modi calling him 'feku', both terms still managing to trend on twitter from time to time.
While social media is amused, looks like Narendra Modi's spin doctors will have enough work over the weekend to work out a damage control strategy. This despite some effort being made by the Reuters reporter, Sruthi Gottipati to explain the context in which the remark was made. But for now, the PR machinery has enough work to do to bring back attention to some of the serious points discussed in the interview which is all set to be remembered for the 'puppy' remark by Modi.
