You know where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is when you see #GoBackModi trending on Twitter in the morning itself. Yes, Modi is on a visit to Tamil Nadu and #GoBackModi was trending at the number 1 spot on Twitter trends in India at 10am, with over 21,000 tweets featuring the hashtag.
Modi is in Chennai on Monday to speak at the convocation at IIT-Madras. Not willing to be silenced, BJP supporters countered with #TNWelcomesModi, which was in the top-10 group of Twitter trends for most of the morning.
A visit to Tamil Nadu is not the only occasion on which #GoBackModi has gone viral. In February, supporters of the then-ruling TDP had used the hashtag when Modi visited Andhra Pradesh to protest the Centre's purported refusal to give special category status to the state. #GoBackModi was also used used in the run-up to the 'Howdy, Modi!' event in Houston last week. But #GoBackModi has been most associated with Tamil Nadu.
In April 2018, opposition political parties and pro-Tamil activists made #GoBackModi viral on Twitter when Modi arrived in the state to inaugurate the DefExpo arms exhibition. The opposition to the visit was on account of the Modi government's purported lack of support to Tamil Nadu's claims on Cauvery waters. In addition to the hashtag, protesters released black balloons into the air and organised demonstrations. The demonstrations had then forced Modi to arrive in IIT-Madras via helicopter.
In January this year, #GoBackModi went viral again as Modi arrived in Tamil Nadu to lay the foundation stone of a proposed AIIMS campus in Madurai. Then, the opponents of Modi's visit had referred to the perceived lack of assistance following the Gaja cyclone and the killings of over 20 protesters in Thoothukudi in police firing during a demonstration against the Sterlite smelter plant in May.
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Modi is not the only BJP leader to be greeted by a hashtag. In July 2018, #GoBackAmitShah trended on Twitter when the BJP chief visited Chennai to oversee expansion plans for the party.
The latest visit by Modi comes weeks after the DMK and other opposition parties had bitterly criticised Home Minister Amit Shah for promoting the use of Hindi as a “unifying language”.