Hours after #ModiInsultsIndia was among the top trending topics on Twitter, in apparent reaction to Prime Minster Narendra Modi's speeches in Shanghai and Seoul, #ModiIndiasPride raced ahead in the India trending list on Tuesday evening.
#ModiInsultsIndia was among the top trends for several hours following perceived unhappiness over Modi's comments during his three-nation tour to China, Mongolia and South Korea.
#ModiIndiasPride, an apparent counter-reaction by the prime minister's fans on Twitter, had many tweets around it by the evening.
Modi said at the Indian community reception in South Korea on Monday that there was a time when people used to say they must have committed some sin that they were born in India.
"Is this a country, is this a government? Let's leave and go somewhere. And people used to go out. For some years, people in industry used to say that we will not do business here and had even kept a foot outside (the country)... Today I can say with confidence that renowned people from different walks of life are eager to come back to the country," Modi said.
The comments drew criticism on Twitter.
Brinda Karat: All this time @narendramodi ashamed to be an Indian? RSS pracharak's inferiority complex? #ModiInsultsIndia
God a@TheTweetOfGod: Just talked to Brahma. He's not ashamed to have been born Indian either. #ModiInsultsIndia
Modi's comments also drew sharp criticism from the Congress.
Party leader Kapil Sibal said no prime minister in the world would have made such comments on foreign soil. "Modi is more concerned with non-resident Indians than with Indians," he said.
By Tuesday evening, #ModiInsultsIndia was not on the top of the India trending list, but #ModiIndiasPride was moving towards the top with tweets admiring the prime minister's work.
Arvind Gupta a@buzzindelhi: We are proud to have @narendramodi as face of the Indian government #ModiIndiasPride
Another tweet said: #ModiIndiasPride because @BarackObama is Barack and @NarendraModi is Narendra... He has made Diplomacy so Human.
