Chowkidar Narendra Modi, PM flaunts prefix

Chowkidar Narendra Modi, PM flaunts prefix

A day after launching the "Main Bhi Chowkidar (I am a watchman too)" campaign on social media, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday changed the title of his Twitter account to "Chowkidar Narendra Modi".

New Delhi, March 17 (IANS) A day after launching the "Main Bhi Chowkidar (I am a watchman too)" campaign on social media, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday changed the title of his Twitter account to "Chowkidar Narendra Modi".

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah followed with "Chowkidar Amit Shah" and tweeted: "The one who made cleanliness a moral value... he is called Chowkidar #MainBhiChowkidar. Say with all your heart #ChowkidarPhirSe (watchman again)."

Shah's remarks came after senior BJP leaders and Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, J.P. Nadda, Harsh Vardhan and Dharmendra Pradhan followed suit, changing their names similarly on Twitter accounts.

"As Chowkidars of our nation, we are committed to creating a clean economy by using cashless financial transactions. The menace of corruption and black money has adversely affected us for decades. Time to eliminate these for a better future," Goyal tweeted.

In his tweet in Hindi, Nadda said: "Country changed, trust changed. A watchman was found in every person."

"In comparison to 2013, mangrove cover increased by 293 sq km during the tenure of Narendra Modiji-led government. While 18 effluent treatment plants were set up to reduce river pollution, 44 real time water quality monitoring stations were set up on Ganga and its tributaries," Harsh Vardhan tweeted.

Suresh Prabhu also took to Twitter saying that "anyone who is doing his/her bit in getting India free of dirt, corruption and social-evils is a Chowkidar. #MainBhiChowkidar... Let's join the movement and help in making India a well-governed, secure and prosperous nation."

"As Chowkidars (watchmen) of our nation, we are committed towards safety and security of our people and their wealth. Elimination of middlemen and cleaning of economy has rattled all corrupts in every part of the country and today every thief is afraid of Chowkidar," Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted.

Goyal and Pradhan uploaded a video on their Twitter accounts with a message of #MainBhiChowkidar.

On Saturday, after Modi launched the "Main Bhi Chowkidar (I am a watchman too)" campaign, he posted a video with the same title on Twitter, saying: "Your Chowkidar is standing firm and serving the nation."

The campaign counters Congress President Rahul Gandhi's repeated attacks on Modi and his government over various alleged malhandling of economic and defence deals and situations, with the slogan - "Chowkidar Chor Hai (watchman is a thief)".

"Five years ago, Chowkidar said he wanted to fight corruption. He said he wanted to make it a 'Congress-mukt Bharat'. Today, the slogan of 'Acche Din Aayenge' has changed to 'Chowkidar Chor Hai'," Gandhi has been repeating at rallies.

Gandhi latched on to the word "Chowkidar" as Modi, during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaigning, promised to work as a "Chowkidar" to guard people's money and their trust once elected.

--IANS

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