The tweets largely reflect the state's anger over the central government's alleged failure to help people during the cyclone Gaja. Tamil Nadu is racked with indecision over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Tamil Nadu visit. The hashtag, #GoBackModi is trending on Twitter on the day of PM Modi's visit to Madurai. At Madurai, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). A majority of tweets contain a cartoon that has an outline of Tamil Nadu with the face of late rationalist leader EVR Periyar saying "Go Back Modi". The posts largely reflect the state's anger over the central government's alleged failure to help people during the cyclone Gaja. The cyclone left over 3 lakh people homeless and uprooted around 11 lakh trees crippling the livelihood of a huge population. When we were affected by Gaja cyclone, no words from you, so now for you #GoBackModi bastin (@bastinmaradona) January 27, 2019 Since you have not kept your promises on ... Please #GoBackModi Pon adhavan (@PonAdhavan) January 27, 2019 When I see few BJP supporters suggesting not to trend #GoBackModi using the tag and end up trending the same .. #GoBackModi pic.twitter.com/TntDHfE2bo sathya narayanan (@sathyatherocker) January 26, 2019 Meanwhile, thousands of other tweets welcomed PM Modi to Madurai and thanked him for setting up AIIMS in the city. Hashtags like #MaduraiThanksModi and #TNWelcomesModi too are among the top trends on Twitter today. Not about to understand the psychology of those who trend #GoBackModi while that person is coming to improve medical facilities in the state.#TNWelcomesModi#TNThanksModi #MaduraiWelcomesModi #MaduraiThanksModi https://t.co/R8vRFGk70e (@Tweets_CS) January 27, 2019 Modi promised #AIIMSMadurai four years ago, lays foundation stone only now. - MK Stalin. MK promised Avinashi-Athikkadavu project implementation in all his manifestos! Now Stalin promises the same!#MaduraiThanksModi #TNWelcomesModi Ethirajan Srinivasan (@Ethirajans) January 26, 2019 The prime minister will also inaugurate the super specialty blocks of Madurai's Rajaji Medical College, and Thanjavur and Tirunelveli Medical Colleges, as part of upgradation projects of the government. He will also visit Kochi in Kerala today and unveil a plaque to dedicate to the nation an integrated refinery expansion complex of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone for a petrochemical complex at the same venue. A mounded storage vessel at an LPG bottling plant of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited in Kochi will also be inaugurated and the PM will lay the foundation stone for skill development institute at Ettumanoor. Head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (DMK) IT wing, P Thiaga Rajan, said that the trending hashtags were the people's voice and that the party had nothing to do with it. "I reiterate that we do not follow the playbook of the BJP's IT Cell," he said in a tweet. As usual BJP calls those that oppose their policies & leaders as Anti-National forces, even as their crude attempts to trend a hashtag are exposed. As head of @DMKITwing, I reiterate that we do not follow the playbook of the BJP’s IT Cell. #GobackModi is the people’s voice. https://t.co/DrAUOkCfiP Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) (@ptrmadurai) January 27, 2019 The BJP has a negligible presence in Tamil Nadu. After Jayalalitha's death in 2016, it has been pointed out that the BJP is exploiting the weak leadership in the AIADMK to forge an alliance for the upcoming national election. It isn't the first time that #GoBackModi is trending on Twitter. In April last year, when he had visited Chennai for the Defence Expo, #GoBackModi had trended. Hundreds of protesters belonging to opposition parties had let black balloons in the air at the time.<doc-sep>As PM Modi visits TN, #GoBackModi trends again on Twitter This is not the first time the phrase has caught the limelight. news Social media On the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Tamil Nadu, hundreds of people on social media trended the hashtag #GoBackModi. The hashtag continues to be the top trend on Twitter for the past 12 hours. The Prime Minister is visiting Madurai on Sunday for laying the foundation stone for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) that is set to come up in Thoppur. As the time of his visit nears, many on Twitter, including those from opposition parties, expressed their opposition by trending #GoBackModi, asking questions on centre's reaction to the police shooting in Thoothukudi, funds for Gaja relief among other issues. The trend which grabbed the top spot on Saturday evening raked in around 2,50,000 tweets by 9.30 am on Sunday morning. This is not the first time the phrase is trending in Tamil Nadu. In April 2018, when Modi was in the state to attend the Defence Expo, protestors lined up the road with black flags and balloons expressing their anger at the central government’s delay in forming the Cauvery Management Board. Pure Gold, via @thirunangai #GoBackModi for - being an Imperialist stooge. - bootlicking the comprador-bourgeois - fascist jungle raj - brahmin-bania agenda - 10% reservation for upper castes - denying cauvery water - imprisoning the 7 tamils - sterlite murders https://t.co/00RQEld3Gh — meena kandasamy (@meenakandasamy) January 27, 2019 #GoBackModi Hindi imperialists are not welcome in proud non-Hindi lands. — Garga Chatterjee (@GargaC) January 26, 2019 Among the tweets that contributed to the trending topic #GoBackModi were those from DMK and Congress handles. And he just added to the trend Smooth#GoBackModi https://t.co/ITpJPG2Q47 — T R B Rajaa (@TRBRajaa) January 27, 2019 #GoBackModi A man who destroyed the economy of India deserves this hashtag — Arockia Edwin (எட்வின்) (@edwinarockia) January 27, 2019 13 aiims hospitals have been announced and not even one has been started to construct. Here comes 14th in Madurai. Wow fraud . #Gobackmodi #SadistModi@Udhaystalin @Anbil_Mahesh @IPSenthil — Salem Raja (@anbilRaja) January 27, 2019 Mr. Modi...don't forget this, when you think of Tamil Nadu#GoBackModi #GoBackSadistModi pic.twitter.com/T5o5la8tib — Tamil Nadu Youth Congress (@TN_PYC) January 27, 2019 As usual BJP calls those that oppose their policies & leaders as “Anti-National forces”, even as their crude attempts to trend a hashtag are exposed. As head of @DMKITwing, I reiterate that we do not follow the playbook of the BJP’s IT Cell. #GobackModi is the people’s voice. https://t.co/DrAUOkCfiP January 27, 2019 While #GoBackModi grabbed the top spot since Saturday night, variants of hashtag which welcomed and thanked the Prime Minister -- #TNWelcomesModi and #MaduraiThanksModi -- was also trended on Twitter by BJP cadre. However, there were a few handles that questioned this trend.<doc-sep>Hashtag GoBackModi was trending on Twitter ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s his visit to Madurai in Tamil Nadu today to lay the foundation of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and launch a slew of government projects. Modi will also be addressing a rally in Madurai to kick off the BJP’s election campaign in a state where it won only one Lok Sabha seat out of 39 in 2014. His detractors have dismissed his visit as a gimmick. A man who dint come to Gaja cyclone why is he coming now..#Gobackmodi pic.twitter.com/CYw00lcNiF — Manivannan Govindan (@ManivannanGov12) January 27, 2019 No fund allocated for AIIMS! No plan in place for AIIMS! Laying foundation for AIIMS in Madurai after high court whacked you! Starting your election campaign from Madurai! Tamils are not fools! We know your gimmicks!#gobackmodi pic.twitter.com/2HQLoPC8Gj — Omar (@Omar22461461) January 27, 2019 Silent when police shot down 13 civilians in TN. Silent again after abolishing use of 12th marks in NEET exam. MODI doesn't care for Tamil Nadu's people! Have some dignity and stop using your trolls to trend fake welcomes.#GoBackModi is the voice of Tamil Nadu and India! pic.twitter.com/hASUcymF7f — Abhishek Sankrit (@AbhishekSankri1) January 27, 2019 BJP supporters hit back at the #GoBackModi with #MaduraiThanksModi and #TNWelcomesModi on Twitter, insisting that Modi has done a lot for Tamil Nadu. #MaduraiThanksModi DMK introduced Alcohol to TN in 1971... Now BJP got TN AIIMS ! BJP Made Kalam Sir President.. Yet DMK makes TN Believe BJP is Anti-Tamil. Karunanidhi Prevented Moopanar from becoming PM.. Yet he is "Pacchai Tamilan". Time to introspect TN folks — mahindu (@mahindu2011) January 26, 2019 He gave us #Jallikattu He secured our fishermen lives He gave us defense corridor He has given us #AIIMS Welcome Thalaivaa ⁦@narendramodi⁩#MaduraiThanksModi#TNWelcomesModi https://t.co/5ZVulop0yp — PRAVEEN RAJA (@praveenrajap) January 27, 2019 #TNWelcomesModi #MaduraiThanksModi #MaduraiThanksModi Modiji is like a sharp sword, that cuts off corruption and cheating. Let’s welcome Modiji. — 🇮🇳Srimani🇮🇳 (@srimani75) January 27, 2019 It is not only #GoBackModi that could mar Modi’s visit. Dravidian and Tamil nationalist parties have launched black flag protests in several parts of Madurai against the PM’s visit. Many are angry that Modi did not visit the state after cyclone Gaja ravaged 12 districts in November. “While 12 TN districts were severely affected with cyclone Gaja hit in November last, the PM did not come here to assess the damages. The Centre also turned down the state government’s plea to sanction Rs 15000 crores for relief measures,” K Ramakrishnan, general secretary, Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) said, He further said that the Union government rejected Tamil MPs objection in implementing 10% reservation for economically weaker sections in general category. “Tamil Nadu is the home for social justice and it is also has been a pioneer in implementing reservations for suppressed class. However, the NDA government has rolled out 10% reservation for economically weaker section in open category. Therefore, to express our dissatisfaction, we will show black flag against the PM’s visit,” said Ramakrishnan. Former MP Vaiko’s Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, and Tamizhar Vaazhvurimai Katchi are taking part in this black flag protest. Protesters are also using black balloons to make their point. In April last year, the DMK and other Dravidian parties raised black flags against the PM for not constituting the Cauvery Management Board, while he was visiting IIT Madras.<doc-sep>ERNAKULAM , CHENNAI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday went on an inauguration spree of big-ticket projects and carried out high-decibel political attacks against opposition parties in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, in what could be seen as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) efforts to rally voters in the run-up to the general elections. Tamil Nadu and Kerala are among the few states where the saffron party has negligible presence, despite being on a rollercoaster ride across the country—a trend, if not turned around, could become detrimental to the BJP’s chances in the 2019 general elections. In Tamil Nadu, the BJP has one MP, but has warmed up well to the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and superstar Rajinikanth, even while remaining independent. In Kerala, the party does not have an MP, and an unstable alliance partner in Ezhava leader Vellappally Natesan. However, it is targeting at least five seats on the back of the recent Sabarimala agitations. In Tamil Nadu’s Madurai, Modi laid the foundation stone for a new ₹1,264 crore All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), which is being propagated as a big boost to the state’s public healthcare services. In Kerala’s Kochi, he inaugurated a ₹16,504 crore expansion project of the Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), which is the single-largest investment made by the centre in Kerala, and has made BPCL-Kochi the biggest public sector refinery in India. However, both events were punctured with protests, which took some sheen off the Prime Minister’s presence. Modi faced criticism under the hashtag “#GoBackModi", which started trending ahead of his Tamil Nadu visit, besides witnessing black flag protests by various political outfits on the ground. Earlier in the day, Kerala chief minister and BJP’s principal rival Pinarayi Vijayan of the CPM said that “some migratory birds have started arriving and that too very often", like a harbinger of bad times, apparently in reference to Modi since it was his second visit within a fortnight to Kerala. Unfazed by the backlash, Modi supported the protests following the entry ban of women of menstruating age in the Sabarimala hill shrine. The BJP was behind the protests after the Supreme Court annulled the custom in September 2018, and blamed the ruling Communists for supporting the apex court order. “I fail to understand why the Communists are undermining our culture and civilization, which has stood the test of time over centuries. The (Congress-led United Democratic Front) UDF, too, is just like the communists. Their doublespeak has been exposed," Modi said, claiming BJP as the sole defender of the faith for the devotees of the hill shrine. “Neither the Congress nor the communists have any concern for women enforcement. If they did, they would not be opposing the NDA government’s efforts to end triple talaq. India has had so many women chief ministers. Has there been even one communist woman chief minister?" Modi also gave political colour to his government conferring the Padma award on Friday to Nambi Narayanan, the celebrated Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist, who had to undergo trial after he was wrongfully accused of spying by the state police. “It is an honour that our government had the opportunity of conferring the Padma Award on Nambi Narayanan. For them (Congress and Communists) science can be abused as spying, for us science is a matter of national pride," Modi said. Neetu Chandra Sharma from New Delhi contributed to this story. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now! ! Topics<doc-sep>
By Online Desk Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Tamil Nadu, Hashtag 'GoBackModi' is trending on Twitter for the last 12 hours. PM Narendra Modi is visiting Madurai on Sunday to lay the foundation stone for All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Thoppur. He will also be addressing a public gathering at the Mandola Nagar Ground. Around 5,000 police personnel have been deployed to maintain tight security ahead of Modi's visit. Director General of Police TK Rajendran and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Vijay Kumar have been closely monitoring the security arrangements. Meanwhile, a lot of people took to the social media platforms to express their disapproval against PM's visit to the state. While #GoBackModi continues to be the top trending hashtag in India, #GoBackSadistModi also continues to trend. Here are some of the tweets criticising PM Modi's visit: The man who has always betrayed my state and my people!#GoBackModi pic.twitter.com/fjjzJc4yIh — MuthuKrish (@Bala_Krish_07) January 27, 2019 A man who dint come to Gaja cyclone why is he coming now..#Gobackmodi pic.twitter.com/CYw00lcNiF — Manivannan Govindan (@ManivannanGov12) January 27, 2019 As usual BJP calls those that oppose their policies & leaders as “Anti-National forces”, even as their crude attempts to trend a hashtag are exposed. As head of @DMKITwing, I reiterate that we do not follow the playbook of the BJP’s IT Cell. #GobackModi is the people’s voice. https://t.co/DrAUOkCfiP — Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) (@ptrmadurai) January 27, 2019 MDMK chief Vaiko led a protest at Madurai against PM Modi's visit to the city. Madurai, Tamil Nadu: Visuals of protest led by MDMK Chief Vaiko against PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the city today. pic.twitter.com/X8OtzJmMPV — ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2019 On the other hand, BJP supporters tweeted using the hashtags '#TNWelcomesModi' and '#MaduraiThanksModi.' BJP leaders Piyush Goyal, Muralidhar Rao, Tamilisai Soundararajan and others also contributed tweets to the hashtag. New Era For Tamil Nadu: Prime Minister @NarendraModi will lay the foundation stone for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) as well as several other key projects of public interest in Madurai, Tamil Nadu#TNWelcomesModi — Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) January 27, 2019 Following this, the PM will visit Kochi to inaugurate a Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited project. He will also address a public rally.