Prime Minister Narendra Modi today dropped a midweek surprise on his deshwasiyon, when he announced that India has successfully tested an anti-satellite missile. Soon after, the Twitter galaxy was flooded with congratulatory posts. Not everyone was over the moon though — memes and jokes flew in at rocket speed.
Rahul Gandhi congratulated DRDO for Mission Shakti, but his real mission was to mock Modi. He wished the Prime Minister Happy World Theatre Day. He might have been winking when he wrote that.
The Congress chief would be happy to note that many Tweeters felt the speech, embellished with elaborate hand gestures, could have been just an email.
The morning did see high drama with Modi tweeting that he was going to make a major announcement between 11.45am and noon. For some, it stirred memories of a bombshell called demonetisation, when Modi had addressed the nation in similar fashion and had people sprinting to the bank. As the Prime Minister made the country wait, reinforcing the Indian Standard Time stereotype, people laughed all the way to the bank, though only on social media.
Some, though, were smart enough to know that the Prime Minister doesn’t repeat surprises.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah had his own prediction, making a not-so-subtle jibe at allegations of vote tampering.
And then, Modi appeared on television screens more than half an hour after the promised time and shot down the soaring speculation. But the reluctant spacewasiyon were still busy taking a dig. MLA Jignesh Mevani decided to remind the Prime Minister about some down-to-earth issues still plaguing the country.
This gentleman tried to punch a (pot)hole in Modi’s 56-inch chest that was bursting with pride
In one corner of India, the mood is sure to be upbeat. Bollywood, which will pounce on anything and everything that makes news, must be busy putting all its shakti behind stitching together a script. Before Vivek Oberoi gets too excited, Twitter has decided that Mr Swachh Bharat is the right choice to make a movie on Mission Shakti.
Who knows, we might soon launch a satellite that will bring Jaadu back to Earth.