Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese to watch the 4th Test between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, where Modi was felicitated by Jay Shah with a photo of Modi, and the entire episode sparked a variety of reactions on social media.
Since the 2014 NaMo era, the BJP and its supporters have left no stone unturned in establishing PM Modi as a brand image, and the BCCI Secretary giving Narendra Modi a photo frame with the PM’s solo photo on it got called out by Twitterati, some of whom claimed that “narcissism runs deep in saffron emperor.”
Jay Shah, S/o Amit Shah felicitated Modi in the Modi stadium with a photo of Modi! #IndVsAus pic.twitter.com/v55SuFxtKc
— YSR (@ysathishreddy) March 9, 2023
In fact, in the same stadium, when the Indian PM took his Australian counterpart through the Hall of Fame, Albanese was seen appreciating photos of cricketing greats from the two countries, which were juxtaposed against a background showing the smiling face of PM Modi.
Prime Minister @narendramodi and Australian PM @AlboMP taking a walkthrough of the Friendship hall of fame at Narendra Modi stadium in #Ahmedabad pic.twitter.com/HJrDEmAlUe
— DD News (@DDNewslive) March 9, 2023
While detractors called out what they saw as sheer narcissism, the PM's backers came out in support of Modi, with one user raising questions about how former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi got awarded the Bharat Ratna while she was PM.
In Narendra Modi stadium, Narendra Modi received Narendra Modi photo ......Narendra Modi ...... Narendra Modi etc etc.
— Himamshu 🧢 (@TodraPakkalam) March 9, 2023
Ok 👍
Just tell me how Indira Gandhi got Bharat Ratna. pic.twitter.com/tqkeeo7OT3
The name of the Gandhi family came up several times in response to tweets criticising PM Modi, and many of Modi's supporters pointed out how members of the Gandhi family had etched their names into government projects, buildings, and roads, among others.
Moreover Gujarat cricket association is private , and they funded to build the stadium .. not govt of india or Gujarat state govt . They kept Modi’s name on a privately built stadium.. while Gandhi family has their name on every govt funded projects or airports or roads ..
— RaviShankar (@ravshanredd) March 9, 2023
Amid this sparring between Modi's supporters and detractors, neutral observers wondered whether the entire episode had been the result of a goof-up.
Could it have been a goof up? Were they supposed to give Modi’s photo to Aussie PM and vice-versa? That would have at least made some sense. Jay giving Modi photo to Modi and Binny giving Aussie PM photo to Aussie PM didn’t make sense!
— Sharnarthee शरणार्थी - ललित कौल (@Sharnarthee) March 9, 2023
While the gift from Jay Shah was surely one of a kind, this is not the first time Modi has posed with his face/name around him.
When Modi met former US president Barack Obama in 2015 in Hyderabad he donned a royal blue ‘bandhgala’ suit that had ‘Narendra Damodardas Modi’ monogrammed over it. It is safe to say PM Modi's meeting with Obama had his name written all over—his suit.
Later, that suit was auctioned off for over Rs 4 crore, making its entry into the Guinness Book of Records for being the most expensive piece of clothing being sold at an auction. The money derived was subsequently provided to the PM’s campaign to clean the River Ganga.
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