Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video message, saying it lacked vision. In the message on Friday morning, Modi urged Indian citizens to turn off lights at 9pm on April 5, and flash candles, torches and mobile flashlights for nine minutes. Tharoor was at his sarcastic best as he took to Twitter to point out the recurrence of the number nine in Modi's message to Indian citizens.
"This is no accident: the PM spoke on Ram Navami at 9 am for 9 mins, asked us to light diyas and candles on 5/4 (April 5) at 9 pm for 9 mins. He is invoking all the auspicious elements Hinduism associates with number 9. Back to Ram Bharose?! COVID19 must be more serious than we thought!" read Tharoor's tweet. However, he seems to have made a gaffe in his tweet. The Hindu festival of Ram Navami was celebrated across India on Thursday and not on Friday.
Earlier in the day, soon after Modi's pre-recorded video message, the parliamentarian tweeted: "Listened to the Pradhan Showman. Nothing about how to ease people’s pain, their burdens, their financial anxieties. No vision of the future or sharing the issues he is weighing in deciding about the post-lockdown. Just a feel-good moment curated by India’s Photo-Op Prime Minister."
In his video message, Modi urged people to stand together and fight the coronavirus pandemic. "We might be alone in our homes, but we are not alone in this fight. The Indian society is fighting this together. This Sunday, April 5, we must come together to dissolve the darkness of COVID-19 and bring in light. On April 5, 9pm, I need your nine minutes. Turn off all lights in your home and light lamps, mobile flashlights and torches. We are not alone in this fight. Nobody is alone. But, please do this activity within the confines of your home. Do not violate social distancing," the prime minister said. It is to be noted that Ram Navami, a nine-day festival to commemorate the birth of Lord Ram, concluded on Thursday.
Soon after the prime minister's call to unity, social media was awash with messages on how the prime minister has evoked the number nine, a significant digit revered in Hinduism.
PM Modi's obsession with numerology, especially the number eight, is no secret. His key addresses to the nation, including demonetisation and the latest coronavirus lockdown, were all timed at 8pm. While he announced demonetisation at 8pm on November 8, 2016 , his national address post the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir was timed for 8pm on August 8, 2019.
Meanwhile, several opposition leaders slammed the prime minister's 'lack of substance' address on Friday. "Turn out lights and come on balconies? Get real Mr Modi! Give India a fiscal package worth 8-10pc of GDP. Ensure immediate wages to construction & other labour during lockdown- laws exist permitting this. Stop gagging real press in name of curbing fake news," tweeted Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra.
"Dear @narendramodi, We will listen to you and light diyas on April 5. But, in return, please listen to us and to the wise counsel of epidemiologists and economists," tweeted former finance minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram.