Nagpur, Jan 11: Tamil actor Siddharth’s (Rang de Basanti etc) rather acerbic tweet retort to badminton ace Saina Nehwal’s tweet on Prime minister Narendra Modi’s security breach and Saina’s shocked reaction to it has set social media aflutter.
Reacting to Modi's security breach during his visit to Punjab, Saina had tweeted, "No nation can claim itself to be safe if the security of its own PM gets compromised. I condemn, in the strongest words possible, the cowardly attack on PM Modi by anarchists." In response to this, Siddharth had tweeted, "Subtle cock champion of the world…Thank God we have protectors of India (sic)." Thousands of tweets sprung to Saina’s defence against Sidharth’s rather unparliamentary attempt at a pun.
Sania who is now a member of the BJP, even though she is also still a professional playing the circuit, has been building up her political profile through controversial tweets in support of the party, in what can be seen as a plan to transition into politics since her days as a top shuttler are over. In a dig at Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal, seasoned shuttler Jwala Gutta tweeted: "Copypaste?!!!". In fact Sania has been part of the BJP IT cell propaganda machine copy pasting all major tweets in defence of the government.
When Nehwal joined the BJP in 2020 in New Delhi she hailed Modi as an "inspiration" with his "hard work" for the country. Nehwal further said the BJP has been doing "a lot of good", and she would work to do her bit as its member. The shuttler had also supported Modi’s call for Janata Curfew and in return Modi came forward and hailed the badminton champion for her support .
Most of her political tweets have invited flak and hence has served the BJP’s social media purpose well. On the farmers' protest, Saina tweeted on February 3, 2021, “Farmers constitute an extremely important part of our country. And the efforts being undertaken to resolve their issues are evident. Let’s support an amicable resolution, rather than paying attention to anyone creating differences.” This was also a copy paste. Sania obviously is only trying to develop a political punch which as of now, is far weaker than her smashes on court.
In December 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was speaking at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, Nehwal tweeted, “I m hearing a thought-provoking speech from @narendramodi sir #RamlilaMaidan (sic).” This was also a BJP ITcell job.
Arun Lakhani, the vice president of BAI told Lokmat Times there was no ban on active players joining a political party or making public comments. “At least in badminton there is no such a rule that shutter can’t join any political party. In fact he or she can continue to play even after becoming MP”, he said. What Sania herself will be eagerly awaiting is a call to higher political duty.