Twitterati echo ‘GoBackModi’ in Mandarin, but ‘welcome’ Xi Jinping

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tamil Nadu again witnessed, like previous times, a wave of resistance on Twitter as the hashtag ‘GoBackModi’ started trending on the micro-blogging website on Friday (October 11). However, this time, the hashtag is trending even in Mandarin.

Modi is in Tamil Nadu to hold a second informal meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mahabalipuram. The meetings are scheduled to be held on Friday and Saturday.

The symbolic resistance on Twitter with the hashtag ‘GoBackModi’ has been a regular affair for the Prime Minister whenever he visits the southern state. During his earlier visits, he also had to encounter black flags and protests by political parties.

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However, during his last visit to the state capital Chennai on September 30, such protests were not seen in the city, even though the hashtag found its place in the trending section of Twitter.

On Friday, as the city geared up to welcome Modi and Jinping, the hashtag again started trending on Twitter, but this time in Mandarin. However, in a sharp contrast to ‘GoBackModi’, ‘TN_welcomes_XiJinping’ too started trending on the microblogging website, both in English and Mandarin. Besides, other related hashtags, including ‘FreeKashmir’ and ‘FreeHongKong’, too started trending on Twitter.

Meanwhile, after landing at the Chennai airport, the Prime Minister tweeted both in Tamil and Mandarin, saying, “I am glad to have arrived in Tamil Nadu, which is famous for its culture and hospitality.”