Congress social media head Divya Spandana, popularly known as Ramya, took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi wondering if he was on ‘POT’. This was in response to the Prime Minister stating that he had given ‘TOP’ priority to farmers, expanding the acronym to mean tomato, onion and potato.
Divya’s jibe drew a sharp reaction from the BJP which called it an ‘insult to the masses’.
Modi was speaking at the Parivartana Yatra rally in Bengaluru on Sunday when he coined the acronym ‘TOP’ to describe tomatoes, onion and potato. “The farmers who grow vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, onions and potatoes are also top priority for us. Take T from tomato, O from Onion and P from Potato, you get TOP. We are starting ‘Operation Greens’ which help farmers produce the vegetables,” Modi said while delivering his address at the rally.
Operation Greens is a government initiative to improve living condition of farmers and has also been announced in the Union Budget.
Soon after the rally, the Congress leader took to Twitter to say, "Is this what happens when you're on POT?"
Is this what happens when you’re on POT? pic.twitter.com/fwSATJoQoP
— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) February 4, 2018
BJP hit back at Divya for her comment. Party leader GVL Narasimha Rao called the comment an insult to the people of India.
@divyaspandana Most people of the country & our party members won't even know what you are referring to (including PM himself) but your Leader will connect with it instantly. While you have insulted people of India with your atrocious comment, your Leader will be proud of you!! https://t.co/TqrW1et99I
— GVL Narasimha Rao (@GVLNRAO) February 4, 2018
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya also questioned Ramya’s choice of words.
In Karnataka, more than 3,500 farmers have committed suicide under @siddaramaiah’s watch, highest for any state in India but speaking for them is being on ‘POT’... Congress keeps it classy, again... pic.twitter.com/CywRWps9Qq
— Amit Malviya (@malviyamit) February 4, 2018
He even went on to demand Divya’s sacking and drew parallels with Congress’s removal of Manishankar Aiyar before the Gujarat Assembly polls.
Will Rahul Gandhi maintain silence on Divya Spandana’s comment while he sacked Mani Shankar Aiyar just because his jibe came close to Gujarat election and Karnataka is still some months away? Or sacrificing his close aide, responsible for his rise as a leader, takes some courage?
— Amit Malviya (@malviyamit) February 4, 2018