In his speech at a rally in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, on December 3, Prime Minister Modi maintained that Indians are adapting to a cashless economy.
To drive home his point, he gave the example of a WhatsApp video which he had seen and which showed a beggar accepting money through debit and credit cards.
Also Read: Modi in UP: People’s Struggle Post Currency Ban Won’t Be in Vain
PM Modi Referred to a 2-Yr-Old ‘Promotional’ Video
According to a news report in The Indian Express, the PM referred to was a promotional video. It had been made by Numero Graphic Creative Solutions Private Limited, a Hyderabad-based data processing and visualisation company. While there is no confirmation yet on which WhatsApp forward PM Modi referred to, this particular video was made in November 2013 and posted on YouTube on 16 January 2014.
It is a promotional video that we made. We gave the beggar that swipe machine to shoot for the video.Kulpreet Kaur, Co-founder, Numero Graphic
The video shows a woman driver saying she doesn’t have change to give to a beggar, upon which the beggar pulls out a POS machine. According to the description of the video on YouTube, the video was shot in Hitech city in Hyderabad.
“Minister of Whatsapp Forwards”: Twitter Expressed Disbelief
Modi prefaced the example by acknowledging that he couldn’t confirm the veracity of the video. But the fact that the Prime Minister used a WhatsApp forward to defend the controversial demonetisation policy generated shock — and a flood of jokes — on social media.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
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