If Reliance Jio fails, will Modi be liable: Ad ripped apart on Twitter
Prime Minister Modi greets Nita Ambani and Mukesh Ambani. File Photo
When a "telecom revolution" - such as Reliance Jio is touted to be - pummels competition, the face that it wants to own is not of an ordinary Indian, but The Extraordinary Indian.
So when leading national dailies had Prime Minister Narendra Modi's face plastered on their front-pages today, bathed in the by now familiar Reliance Jio blue, promising that Digital India, is, basically, Jio Digital Life India, "dedicated to 1.2 billion Indians", we knew that the very thin line between the public and the private, the government and the corporate, has, clearly, disappeared.
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| PM Modi appearing in Reliance Jio's ad. Photo: Twitter |
Narendra Modi is telling us to "Jio" our not adequately digital lives, just as Mukesh Ambani, sounding every bit and more like an IMF or Wharton School wizkid, said yesterday, at the launch of Reliance Jio: "data is the new oil, and useable data is the new petrol".
Perhaps, he omitted the word "gas" as a mark of respect to ONGC, which has alleged that RIL has, well, to put it very, very mildly, unduly benefited from ONGC's gas basins.
Narendra Modi never made any bones about being seen with hefty industrialists and his photo-ops with Gautam Adani as well as Mukesh Ambani are now internet memes that have periodic additions to the vast repertoire.
How can Digital India - a government-driven campaign - be claimed and literally owned, as well be profiteered from by a single telecom behemoth that, one the one hand, has "disrupted" the telecom market, and, on the other, is pushing the prime minister's face to promote a private product and service offered by the wealthiest man in the country?
Exactly on a day there is a Central Trade Unions strike to protest against dwindling labour relations and deteriorating condition of India's huge working class.
Has irony died in this country? Is nepotism officially okay enough to be openly flaunted and bandied about? Or, does this signal a new openness around the government-corporate nexus, that has hitherto been talked about in hushed tones and criticised in the oped pages of left-leaning newspapers and magazines?
Earlier, BJP national president Amit Shah was seen promoting Freedom 250 mobile phones, which turned out to be a messy and shady affair.
While Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the ordinal Mukesh Ambani-and-Modi-baiter, lost no time to call the prime minister "Mr Reliance" and a "Salesman of Reliance" in a series of sharp tweets, Twitterati too joined in at the free-for-all circus that is Indian politics at present.
PM as Mr Reliance https://t.co/0nv2DZBws2
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 2, 2016
Are we a country of 1.2 billion citizens or a market of 1.2 billion customers? Even though the answer is not a simple either/or, that is a question we must urgently ask ourselves.
An employer hired the best Chowkidar in the country to protect Jio from data corruption.(2016) pic.twitter.com/2OCgVTBsGR
— History of India (@RealHistoryPic) September 2, 2016
Narendra Modi's Pic in Reliance Jio Ad is Tricky debate. Companies can't use PM's Pic for Promotion - but they can use their employee's pic
— Joy (@Joydas) September 2, 2016
.@narendramodi has once again proved that he's a reliance stooge.Wonder why he can't do this for BSNL and MTNL. pic.twitter.com/Lgf1WqyVZU
— Ankit Lal (@AnkitLal) September 2, 2016
Idea - Abhishek BachchanAirtel - 4G girlVodafone - KuttaJio - Modi
— Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) September 2, 2016
The reason why people call Modi Sarkar as "Suit-Boot-Ki-Sarkar" (1/5) pic.twitter.com/fjjNehE6b3
— Gaurav Pandhi (@GauravPandhi) September 2, 2016
Well, you do know that "I'm Jio'd" is an anagram of Modi-ji. pic.twitter.com/jKfcLbLpob
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) September 2, 2016
It will be interesting to watch which TV editor will have guts to run Modi doing endorsement for Reliance today.
— ashutosh (@ashutosh83B) September 2, 2016
Prime Salesman of Reliance Jio pic.twitter.com/xcdduGOyJw
— Riya Mukherjee (@riyalovezu) September 2, 2016
So if that celebrity endorsement law passes, you should presumably be able to arrest Modi ji should Jio not live up to its speed claims?
— Bhavya Khanna (@bhavyakhanna) September 2, 2016
Why endorse one Corporate house? What terrible message does it send to all the Govt officials? #LevelPlayingField? https://t.co/BM4z2zEry4
— Rahul Mehra (@TheRahulMehra) September 2, 2016
Crony capitalism hits a new high. The PM of India, Narendra Modi, is in a full page ad endorsing Ambani's new product.#Shame
— Macaulayputri (@rupagulab) September 2, 2016
If #Jio doesn't work as well as promised, will @PMOIndia be liable for action under celebrity endorsement law? https://t.co/1VSwQZGIzR
— Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) September 2, 2016
Narendra Modi is endorsing Reliance Jio.Makes sense for the PM to endorse a brand.Especially for him: since Roaming is free.
— Sorabh Pant (@hankypanty) September 2, 2016
Brand ambassador? Did @PMOIndia give permission? Can't use the PM's image without it. pic.twitter.com/uK7w0fUyeu
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) September 2, 2016
Other telecoms: Mere paas ideas hain, employees hain, capital hai..Jio: Mere paas PM haiimage via @NirbhayasIndia pic.twitter.com/qMnK9lnxrD
— SamSays (@samjawed65) September 2, 2016