Narendra Modi reportedly lost 3 lakh Twitter followers the day after demonetisation announcement
Twitter Counter reported as many as 3,13,312 users unfollowed the prime minister on November 9, though the website said it was caused by a "social graph error".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lost more than three lakh followers on Twitter a day after he announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on Tuesday. According to Twitter Counter, as many as 3,13,312 users unfollowed the prime minister’s Twitter handle @narendramodi. Modi’s Twitter handle has over 24 million followers.
Twitter, however, said that the drop in Modi’s followers was because of a “spam clean up” that “has happened across a lot of accounts”. The company later clarified that it was because of a “social graph error” and not a spam clean up, Catch News reported. On Thursday, Modi gained 4,30,128 followers on the microblogging site, reported Firstpost. As of now, he is the most followed Indian on Twitter.
The prime minister, in an unexpected address to the nation on Tuesday, had announced that the country was doing away with Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in an effort to weed out corruption, black money and in turn poverty and terrorism. Modi said that the government believed the time had come to “take a strong decision” on tackling such problems, suggesting that counterfeit notes from across the border were being used to fund terrorism in India.
On Friday, banks saw long queues of people waiting to hand in their demonetised notes. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who has criticised the Centre’s move, joined a queue outside the ATM kiosk of State Bank of India on Delhi’s Parliament Street to exchange notes worth Rs 4,000, where he continued his attack on the prime minister. “Can you see anybody here who is high and mighty? Only the troubled common people are here. But how does it matter to Modiji?” he said.
The Congress scion said he was at the ATM to experience the inconvenience that common people are facing. “I have come to exchange Rs 4,000. My people are in pain and are suffering, I have come to stand with them,” he added. He later posed for selfies with customers.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party said Gandhi’s sudden visit only made people more uncomfortable. “Rahul Gandhi is adding to the chaos. The people do not buy this, they are not interested in theatrics,” party spokesperson Shaina NC told NDTV.
