Twitter reactions to Modi's SCAM remark: Vote for a party that stops making silly acronyms

In a country where politics has increasingly turned into one giant Onion article, the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls have managed to take this a step further – everyone is now an 11-year-old, making acronyms out of random words to push a narrative.

Remember when we used to derive “full forms” out of the names of our friends, in the fifth grade? Well, apparently all politicians in India seem to have turned into fifth-graders, starting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in his first rally in Uttar Pradesh after the state polls were announced, asked the people in Uttar Pradesh to "rid the state of SCAM - S for Samajwadi (party), C for Congress, A for Akhilesh (Yadav) and M for Mayawati".

This is not the first time that the prime minister has used ridiculous acronyms. RSVP (Rahul, Sonia, Vadra, Priyanka), SABKA (SaPa, BaSaPa, Congress), USTTAD (Upgrading Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development), are just a few of the many, many crummy acronyms that the Modi government has come up with.

But what made things worse – if possible – is how the SP-Congress alliance chose to retaliate. Akhilesh Yadav, the SP scion, corrected the acronym and said that it stood for "Save Country from Amit (Shah) and Modi".

If that weren’t bad enough already, Rahul Gandhi made it worse. "S infact stands for 'service', C for 'courage', A for 'ability' and M for 'modesty'," said the Congress vice-president.

"Whenever Modi is nervous, he starts giving labels PPE, ABC, DEF, GHY. Now this SCAM.... A person, who is in the wrong, sees scam everywhere because this is his reality”, said Rahul Gandhi, while addressing a joint rally here with Uttar Pradesh.

This bizarre series of acronyms has sent the social media on a frenzy, with people coming with their own versions of SCAM and NDA among other things.

SCAM: Stop Coining Acronyms, Modijivia #WhatsApp

— Ankur Bhardwaj (@Bhayankur) February 6, 2017

SCAM - Stop Coining Absolutely Mediocre (acronyms)

— Aisi Taisi Democracy (@AisiTaisiDemo) February 5, 2017

All UP leaders have given full forms to SCAM except Mayawati. Her version would be -SCAM - Scheduled Castewaalon Aao Merepaas

— Sagar (@sagarcasm) February 5, 2017

What does SCAM stand for? Stop Coining Acronyms, Modiji - from a friend.

— Salil Tripathi (@saliltripathi) February 6, 2017

The real #SCAM #Modi #Rahul #SasikalaNatarajan #TamilNadu My #Cartoon pic.twitter.com/Z2MLLs8ljH

— MANJUL (@MANJULtoons) February 6, 2017

Let's have a SCAM night,  Sharab,  Chips,  Ande,  Murgi

— Ashish (@AshishNBT) February 5, 2017

The man who actually came up with an effective answer is Akhilesh Yadav. Expands #SCAM as Save Country from Amit shah and Modi

— Padmaja joshi (@PadmajaJoshi) February 5, 2017

Development is in Narendra Modi's DNA - which only means Developing New Acronym's

— Joy (@Joydas) February 6, 2017

And you thought Rahul Gandhi was bad with his SCAM acronym.. pic.twitter.com/NhRwMHVAfD

— That Goan Boy (@schmmuck) February 6, 2017

This is pretty much what sums up everything a voter needs to be concerned about.

I will vote for whichever leader stops the practice of creating these terrible acronyms.

— Akshat (@FarziVakeel_) February 5, 2017

One of the most crucial Assembly polls in the nation has been ultimately reduced to a sound bite that would fail to make even 11-year-old laugh. Then again, when has Indian politics been anything other than a big joke?

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