Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on a visit to Bangladesh, congratulated the country on Friday for its 50th year of Independence and said one of the first protests of his political career was for the freedom of the neighbouring nation.
"The freedom struggle of Bangladesh was a significant moment in my journey too... My colleagues and I had done a satyagraha in India... I was in my early twenties. I even had the opportunity to go to jail during this satyagraha for Bangladesh's struggle for freedom," he said.Following the remarks, scores of people took to social media to express incredulity at Modi’s claims. It also led to a hashtag #LieLikeModi trending on Twitter.
“He cannot speak the truth even by mistake,” former Union minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posted on Twitter.
“Arrested where/when/why? His exact age also iffy. Wouldn’t record exist in some police file of an arrest? Pakistan general election that started the crisis was in Dec 1970. Crackdown began in 1971. Refugees flooded into India. War was short & won. So what was PM’s angst?” wrote former IFS officer KC Singh on Twitter.
“Modi says he fought for independence of Bangladesh and was even sent to jail. But wasn't India fighting a war with Pakistan to liberate Bangladesh? So where did he go to jail? Was he in Pakistan?” posted Gaurav Pandhi, Congress party’s national coordinator, digital communications and social media, on the microblogging website.
"....and now, whenever I see anyone asking for freedom or sitting on a satyagraha, I have to arrest them. Don't blame me; it's past trauma," another user posted.
Here’s a compilation of some other tweets capturing the users’ reactions:
