Summary:
NEW DELHI: The "Main Bhi Chowkidar" movement has been a huge success and on March 31, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would interact with some of the newly minted chowkidars in a video conference, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters today.
The "Main Bhi Chowkidar" campaign had taken social media by storm, the minister said.
With the hashtag being tweeted 20 lakh times and 1,680 crore impressions, it has become a "people`s movement", he added.
The Prime Minister`s use of the prefix "Chowkidar" on his twitter handle has created a storm on both sides of the political divide.
While his ministers, party leaders and supporters rushed to get on board, the opposition hastened to disparage it.
From Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to Trinamool Congress leader Derek O`Brien and Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav, all poured scorn on the campaign.
It even triggered a counter-campaign from Hardik Patel -- the newest Congress entrant who made headlines for spearheading the quota stir of the Patidar community.
Mr Patel used the prefix "Berojgar" (unemployed) -- which gained traction quickly on Twitter.
This morning, irked by the Congress campaign, a Haryana`s BJP minister Anil Vij took a swipe, saying if the party did not like the prefix Chowkidar, "You too prefix #Pappu before your names.