The government’s ‘U-turn’ on the black money issue on Friday put the BJP on the mat with not just the Congress but the social media also erupting with angry reactions.
In fact, #BJPBlackMoneyDhokha was the topmost trending topic on Twitter through the day as twitterati retweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha election-vintage tweets ridiculing the United Progressive Alliance government’s inability to get back black money stashed away overseas. And, the BJP’s election catch phrase “Abki Baar Modi Sarkar” became “Abki Baar U Turn Sarkar.’’
The Congress, for its part, demanded an apology from Mr. Modi for misleading the nation. Accusing the BJP and Mr. Modi of “political dishonesty”, Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said the stand taken by the government in the Supreme Court earlier in the day was basically a repetition of what the former Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, had said in the past.
“At that time, he was shouted down by the BJP’’ and its supporters like Baba Ramdev and Kiran Bedi, Mr. Singhvi said. Why is one government’s inaction on black money alright while another government was ridiculed for it?’’
The Congress also pulled out a series of tweets by Mr. Modi during the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
The tweets include: “Mere lip-service by the FM on the return of black money; UPA’s lack of commitment towards bringing black money was on display yet again!’’ on February 17, 2014; “We truly respect issues @yogrishiramdev raises, be it stopping corruption & bringing back black money...’’ on March 23, 2014; and “...NDA will bring back every paisa that is stashed abroad’’ on March 30, 2014.
