The BJP on Friday taunted its rivals for “ridiculing” traditional Indian customs like the namaste that the party said were being embraced by the world while tackling the coronavirus but preferred silence on Narendra Modi’s penchant for hugging world leaders, a practice he did not abandon even after the outbreak had started to spread.

As the country grappled with the pandemic, the party’s official Twitter handle, @BJP4India, on Friday busied itself with mocking political opponents whom the ruling party accused of deriding cultural practices promoted by the Modi government. The BJP claimed that the importance of these cultural habits was now being felt because of the coronavirus and the resultant social-distancing rules.

The BJP uploaded the tweets under the head “Jin yojnawon ka hua apmaan, woh lockdown mein bani vardan (The schemes that faced insult have become a boon during the lockdown)”.

“Woh yog aur Bharatiya sanskriti ka tiraskar karte rahe. Aaj yog ke saath namaste ko bhi duniya apna rahi hai (They ridiculed yoga and Indian culture. Today, along with yoga, the world is also adopting the namaste),” one of the tweets said, referring to the greeting with folded hands that many western countries were adopting as an alternative to the handshake as part of social-distancing measures.

Although the BJP did not explicitly say who it meant by “they”, some party leaders said it was an obvious reference to political rivals, the “so-called seculars and liberals”.

The BJP never misses an opportunity to pitch itself as a party ingrained in true “Indian-ness” or “Bharatiyata”, while painting its opponents as those trying to push through western and foreign ideas.

While taking pot shots at its rivals, however, the BJP on Friday made no mention of Prime Minister Modi’s fondness for the hug, which he has unleashed on almost all heads of state he has met.

Modi kept hugging with élan even after the coronavirus began threatening the world, embracing US President Donald Trump when he visited India in end-February. The world was already grappling with the outbreak, and the first case in India was reported in January-end.

Apart from yoga and the namaste, the BJP on Friday also drew attention to some of the flagship schemes of the Modi government.

The BJP referred to the large-scale construction of toilets under the Swachh Bharat Yojana, claiming that these were helping to contain the spread of infections.

The party also highlighted the direct benefit transfer scheme for farmers, which it claimed was easing the problems of farmers.

“Today, Rs 2,000 each has been transferred to the bank accounts of 8.7 crore farmers and it is proving to be a big help #IndiaFightsCorona,” one of the tweets said, referring to the Kisan Samman Nidhi under which each farmer gets three yearly instalments of Rs 2,000 each.

The BJP alleged that its rivals had dubbed the amount meagre and ridiculed the scheme when it was announced.

Apart from slamming opponents, the BJP’s Twitter handle has been constantly urging people to donate to the PM-Cares Fund and putting out pictures of BJP leaders distributing food among the poor.

The party is also bracing for an extension of the lockdown that is likely to be announced on Sunday after Modi’s meeting with chief ministers on Saturday.