Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Madurai visit, where he will lay the foundation stone for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) that is set to come up in Thoppur, a hashtag war broke out on micro-blogging site Twitter between DMK and BJP supporters.
The two contesting hashtags – #MaduraiThanksModi and #GoBackModi – were among the top trends on Sunday, 27 January.
DMK leaders from the state as well as the official handle of Tamil Nadu Youth Congress were among those tweeting using this hash tag.
This is however not the first time that #GoBackModi is trending in Tamil Nadu.
In April 2018, when Modi was in the state to attend the Defence Expo, protesters lined up the road with black flags and balloons expressing their anger at the central government’s delay in forming the Cauvery Management Board.
BJP leaders soon took to the social media platform to match up to their rivals. The party’s social media chief Amit Malviya himself, among others, tweeted using the hash tags #MaduraiThanksModi and #TNWelcomesModi.
The prime minister is scheduled to inaugurate the super specialty blocks of Rajaji Medical College (Madurai), Thanjavur Medical College (Thanjavur) and Tirunelveli Medical College (Tirunelveli) on Sunday.
He is also due to visit to Kochi on Sunday and unveil a plaque to dedicate to the nation an integrated refinery expansion complex of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, news agency PTI reported ahead of his visit.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)