Prime Minister Narendra Modi triggered a flurry of speculation after he took to Twitter late Monday evening to say that he was considering giving up his social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram from Sunday.
“This Sunday, thinking of giving up my social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube. Will keep you all posted,” tweeted Mr. Modi, immediately setting off a hashtag #NoSir to persuade him not to do so.
His social media team refused to comment, only stating that it was the Prime Minister himself who would do the big reveal of his reasons.
Speculation ran rife on social media over why Mr. Modi, one of the first among politicians to unleash the power of social media in India and one of the highest followed leaders the world over, would announce such a thing.
It ranged from plans for launching an India-specific platform on the lines of “Weibo” in China, to a social media detox following the role played by certain accounts in fanning communal riots in Delhi.
One source said that since Mr. Modi had asked, in the past, for public campaigns on certain issues, he may be considering a campaign around social media detox with offline social intercourse aimed at social cohesion.
Mr. Modi has around 53.3 million followers on Twitter and by 35 million on Instagram.
On Facebook, he tops the list of world leaders with 44 million people liking his page.
Rahul’s tweet
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was also quick to react to Mr. Modi’s announcement, tweeting: “give up hatred not social media”.
The opposition Congress has been protesting in Parliament the government’s handling of the Delhi riots and demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
