For ‘NaMo OP’, Opposition is ‘noob’: PM Modi ups his game before polls

From trying his hand at gaming to slyly referring to a “a particular person” from the Opposition as a “noob”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (April 13) tasted a slice of Gen Z life in an interaction with seven select Indian gamers.

As one of the gamers introduced the PM to the slang “noob” — a derivative of “newbie” that is used to denote an inexperienced gamer — Modi cracked up. “If I use this word (noob) during elections, people will wonder who I am referring to... If I say it, you will think of a particular person,” PM Modi said, without naming anyone.

The seven gamers Modi met were Animesh Agarwal (Thug), Naman Mathur (Mortal), Anshu Bishu (Gamerfleet), Ganesh Gangadhar (SKrossi), Tirth Mehta (Gcttirth), Payal Dhare (Payal Gaming), and Mithilesh Patankar (MythPat).

Modi’s new name

Modi was at his wittiest best during the interaction, making one wisecrack after the other, prompting the gamers to give him a new name: “NaMo OP”, with OP standing for “overpowered”.

“All of us have gamer tags. Since you are a Gen Z like us, we will now call you ‘NaMo OP’ (overpowered), as in our livestream chats you are the most powerful person in the country,” said one of the gamers.

They also said he was the “coolest PM” and the “country’s biggest influencer”.

The PM also learned some Gen Z Internet slangs such as GTG (Got to Go) and AFK (away from keyboard) and played some games guided by the youngsters, with a virtual reality headset to boot. After a few rounds, he quipped, “I pray to God that I don’t get addicted to this.”

What gamers want

On a serious note, the Prime Minister discussed the nitty-gritty of the gaming industry with the gamers, asked about their challenges and what they wanted from the government. As the gamers came up with several suggestions, he asked them to send an email mentioning all their problems with the exact key points to his office.

He also brought up the topics of climate change and global warming and asked the gamers to create a game themed on these. “People have offered different solutions. I have offered an alternate solution called ‘Mission LIFE’, which advocates for changing our daily lifestyle to benefit the environment. Now, envision a game aimed at addressing global climate issues, where the gamer must explore various methods and solutions to identify the most sustainable approach,” he said.

He added that the game theme could revolve around cleanliness (swachchhata) and “every child should play this game”. He also asserted that the youth should embrace Indian values and “understand their true significance”.

Congress-BJP war of words

However, the “noob” remark infuriated the Congress, which slammed the PM. “All these are just the BJP’s political tactics around the elections. It will backfire,” Congress leader Pramod Tiwari told a news channel.

In reply, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla took a jibe at the Congress on X. “PM Modi did not name anybody, but why are Congress leaders reacting and confirming who the noob of politics is?” Poonawalla posted.

Sharing the video of the PM’s interaction with the gamers, actor-politician Kangana Ranaut also asked in the caption, “Who is this noob?”