'Give Up Hatred, Not Social Media': Rahul Gandhi Takes A Dig At PM Narendra Modi

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his tweet about quitting social media platforms, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, "Give up hatred, not social media accounts." Another Congress leader asked PM Modi to give this advice to the ‘army of trolls. "Earnestly wish you would give this advise to the concerted army of trolls, who abuse-intimidate-badger-threaten others every second in you name!" Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted.

Earlier, PM Modi said he is thinking about giving up his social media accounts on various platforms, including Twitter and Facebook. "This Sunday, thinking of giving up my social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube. Will keep you all posted," he tweeted. The prime minister is active on social media, especially on Twitter where he has 53.3 million followers.

PM Modi is known for his ability to connect with the masses through social media. According to The Economic Times, he had roughly 5.3 million followers in 2014 which rapidly grew over a period of five years. It was also around this time when Modi began using other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, where he has 43.7 million and 30 million followers respectively. Modi is now also the most followed leader on Instagram.

PM Modi is very active on social media, including Instagram and Twitter and regularly puts out texts on everything - from his speeches at various platforms to the places he went and the people he met.  In 2018, an international survey ranked Modi among the top three leaders of the world. An annual survey by Gallup International put the Prime Minister at number three among the global leaders.

The respondents in the survey, which was conducted among the people across 50 countries, rated Modi ahead of China's Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, then British Prime Minister Theresa May, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu amongst others.

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The top ranking in the survey went to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by French President Emmanuel Macron.

With Agency Inputs