Rahul Gandhi Takes on Narendra Modi; Smriti Irani Jumps In Defence

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Rahul Gandhi Takes on Narendra Modi; Smriti Irani Jumps In Defence

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advice to bureaucrats on how to use social media. But Union Minister Smriti Irani hit back at Rahul.

Rahul Gandhi Takes on Narendra Modi; Smriti Irani Jumps In DefenceA minor social media war broke out today after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advice to civil servants on “not use social media for self-promotion”.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted implying that Narendra Modi does not lead by example.

He said in his tweet: Leading by example is clearly over rated.

Minutes later, Union Minister Smriti Irani jumped into fray latching on to the words `over rated’. She said in her tweet:  Look who is talking about being over rated.

And, for good measure, she added a smiley.

Smriti Irani clearly indicated that Rahul Gandhi was a highly over rated leader.Rahul Gandhi Takes on Narendra Modi; Smriti Irani Jumps In Defence

Yesterday, addressing civil servants on the occasion of Civil Services Day in Delhi, Modi had said social media should be used for the welfare of the people and not for self-praise  or to win `likes,’ followers or appreciation.

Also Read: Narendra Modi Wanted to Be a Bureaucrat

“If I am informing the people about dates of polio vaccination through social media, saying that they should come out on a particular date for the vaccination, then it (social media) is helpful. But if during vaccination-related work, I am praising my own photograph on Facebook, then it puts a question mark (on the work done by civil servants),” he pointed out.

The Prime Minister also said he had banned cell phones at all his meetings with ministers and bureaucrats.

Read More: After Lal Batti, Narendra Modi Bans Cell Phones During Meetings

The ban has been for quite some time, but that was in the realm of speculation. However, the confirmation came today. Modi said he had banned mobile phones from his meetings because officers had attention deficit during the important meetings. This is because the officers often were found glancing at social media sites in the midst of important official discussions.

Modi had earlier banned cell phones during cabinet meetings and speculation was then rife that it was because he did not want decisions to be leaked out. But the real reason is that he wanted the full attention of all his ministers. Cell phones, Modi feels, is sometimes a great distraction.

He told civil servants: “I see these days that district-level officers are so busy, busy, that most of their time goes into it (social media). I have stopped the entry (of mobile phones) in my meetings as they (officers) would take them out and start (checking out social media sites).”

But, at the same time, he was also all praise for cell phones and social media. The world was moving from e-governance to mobile-governance, he said and added that the best equipment (cell phones) needed to be used for the welfare of people. Social media sites are helpful when they are used for spreading information about the good work being done.

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