'Chowkidar' No More: PM Modi Removes Prefix from His Twitter Handle After Resounding Election Victory

Nurturnup

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posted on 5 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Modi had launched the 'Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign in March, calling upon citizens to take the pledge to fight against corruption and other social evils.

New Delhi: Hours after results of the Lok Sabha election indicated a mammoth victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening removed the prefix “chowkidar” (watchman) from his Twitter handle.

The people of India became Chowkidars and rendered great service to the nation. Chowkidar has become a powerful symbol to safeguard India from the evils of casteism, communalism, corruption and cronyism.? Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019

Now, the time has come to take the Chowkidar Spirit to the next level. Keep this spirit alive at every moment and continue working for India’s progress.The word ‘Chowkidar’ goes from my Twitter name but it remains an integral part of me. Urging you all to do the same too!? Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019

BJP chief Amit Shah, who had also prefixed “chowkidar” to his Twitter handle, followed within minutes. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Textiles Minister Smriti Irani also reverted to their original Twitter handles.

In March, Modi had urged supporters to be part of the #MainBhiChowkidar pledge against corruption, after which he changed his name on Twitter to ‘Chowkidar Narendra Modi’. Shah and several Union ministers had followed suit.

Modi had launched the 'Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign in March, calling upon citizens to take the pledge to fight against corruption and other social evils.

"Your Chowkidar is standing firm and serving the nation. But, I am not alone. Everyone who is fighting corruption, dirt, social evils is a Chowkidar. Everyone working hard for the progress of India is a Chowkidar," Modi had then said in a series of tweets. "Today, every Indian is saying. Main Bhi Chowkidar," he added.

The campaign was launched a week after the schedule of the Lok Sabha election was announced on March 10 to counter Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's repeated "chowkidar chor hai" (the watchman is a thief) jibes targeting Modi over alleged irregularities in the Rafale jet deal.