For Modi govt, picture isn’t complete without a selfie, from I-Day to Railway, Army to UGC, global stage to village

According to the RTI reply cited by Kharge, the approved cost for temporary selfie booths at railway stations is Rs 1.25 lakh each, whereas the permanent ones have been installed for Rs 6.25 lakh each. Each features a life-size cutout of Modi and highlights the achievements of the BJP government under the tagline ‘Ye Naya Bharat Hai (This is New India)’.

In September, the Railway Board’s Information and Publicity Department had issued a directive in this regard to zonal railways, telling them to set up specially designed 3D selfie booths at as many stations as possible.

But this picture seems far from over.

Defence Ministry campaign

In October, the Ministry of Defence had issued guidelines to all its departments to set up in all 822 selfie points, to highlight the work done by the department and said this “may contain” photos of the PM. The suggested locations for the selfie points included war memorials, museums, public transit stations, airports, markets, schools and colleges, and tourist destinations.

“The Ministry of Defence has undertaken a series of reforms in the last nine years… As per the directions received during a review meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on September 14, 2023, selfie points are to be established at prominent locations by various Departments and organisations of MoD… on the themes of their respective achievements,” said the guidelines, which also directed departments to install the selfie points “immediately”.

The ministry also suggested developing a dedicated app and the creation of social media handles for people to submit their selfies. Among the themes suggested by the ministry were Aatmanirbhar Bharat, women’s empowerment, Swachh Bharat, the Jal Jeevan Mission and the Ujjawala LPG scheme.

Criticising this initiative, Kharge had said: “By capitalising on the popularity of the brave soldiers of our Indian Army who protect the nation, Modi ji is promoting (himself)… BJP, which teaches the lesson of nationalism, has hurt the dignity of the Indian Army.”

Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh had urged President Droupadi Murmu to intervene in her capacity as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, “and direct the government to immediately withdraw this wrong step”.

UGC’s tough lesson

Earlier this month, the University Grants Commission (UGC), whose stated goal is “the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examination and research in university education”, issued a directive to colleges to set up selfie points to highlight India’s achievements. The design recommended for the booths mentioned photos of Modi.

A row followed, with administrators, faculty and the Opposition slamming the UGC for “openly doing publicity of the government” despite being an autonomous body. Finally, the UGC withdrew the recommended design, though not the campaign.

On X, the Congress’s Ramesh said, “Our selfie-obsessed and self-obsessed PM is so insecure in the run up to Lok Sabha polls that he’s leaving no stone unturned to save his flailing image… First, it was the Army being asked to set up selfie points. Then, he asked IAS officers and other senior govt officials to take out ‘Rath Yatras’. Now, he has directed UGC to set up selfie points in all universities.”

Defending the measure, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Parliament the selfie points were a “matter of pride”. “We have been seeing since childhood that pictures of the President, Prime Minister and Mahatma Gandhi are on the walls in schools and offices. Now, when we are putting selfie points with pictures of a leader who has made us proud globally and taken the country to different heights, what is your problem? It is a democracy… If you don’t want to click selfies, don’t,” Pradhan said.

I-Day as selfie day

Ahead of the 77th Independence Day this year, the BJP government announced a ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ initiative, with people urged to hoist the Indian flag at their homes and neighbourhoods and to share selfies posing with the Tricolour. By August 15, more than 8 crore selfies had been shared on the campaign’s website.

On Independence Day this year, the government also set up 12 selfie points around Delhi and asked people to submit their photos as part of a contest organised by the Ministry of Defence with a cash prize of Rs 10,000 for each winner. As part of the campaign, the PM too changed his profile pictures on his social media accounts to an Indian flag.

In November, the Maharashtra government acknowledged a Guinness entry made by India for “maximum online selfies” under the Centre’s ‘Meri Mati Mera Desh’ campaign.

The campaign involved paying tribute to soldiers who had died in the line of duty by collecting soil and rice from their households in ‘Amrit Kalash’ containers, and clicking photos with them. Maharashtra’s Savitribai Phule Pune University managed 10.42 lakh “officially recognised” selfies, apparently beating hands – and faces – down a China record of 1 lakh selfies.

Photo with daughter

One year into first becoming PM, Modi launched the nationwide ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ initiative for the girl child, a big part of which involved fathers and daughters taking selfies together.

The PM said he was inspired by the Twitter hashtag ‘#SelfieWithDaughter’, popularised by Sunil Jaglan, the sarpanch of the Bibipur village in Haryana.

This year, the BJP’s Mahila Morcha ran a selfie programme for women beneficiaries of the Modi government’s schemes. On the PM’s personal website, the campaign asked people to share selfies with a women beneficiary as part of the BJP’s efforts to ensure saturation of government programmes.

Selfie diplomacy

Since Modi became PM, one element of his tours abroad has been selfies with global leaders.

Most recently, at the COP28 summit in Dubai, his selfie with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni had gone viral on social media. The leaders referred to each other as friends, with Meloni also using the hashtag ‘Melodi’, which is a combination of their names.

In 2015, Modi’s selfie with then Chinese premier Li Keqiang, taken during an official trip to boost economic ties and discuss border disputes, had gone viral on social media, including on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site. Modi had joined Weibo days before his visit and posted the photo on his own account. It was a rare thing for one of China’s senior most leaders to succumb to that personal moment, as most of them maintain low profiles, particularly on social media. At the time, foreign media outlets called it the “most power-packed selfie in history”.

The Congress had reacted by wishing that Modi also posed for selfies with distressed farmers. Ramesh quipped: “Modi promised selfless government, one year later we see a selfie prime minister.”

The voting day selfie

Set to make his debut on the national stage with the BJP having declared him the prime ministerial candidate, Modi made a big splash during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls when he clicked a selfie outside a polling station which depicted his inked finger as well as the BJP’s lotus symbol, pinned to his lapel, and delivered a short speech. The Congress questioned this, as campaigning is forbidden within 100 metres of polling areas on voting day, and the Election Commission served Modi a notice.

“The Commission is of the view that by holding that meeting and also by addressing the same today when the polling is going on in the entire state of Gujarat and in different parts of the country, Narendra Modi has violated the provisions of Sections 126 (1)(a) and 126 (l)(b) of Representation of People’s Act 1951,” the EC said. “Therefore, the Commission directs… that complaint/FIR as the case may be, should be filed against Narendra Modi and all others who were involved in the convening and holding of the said meeting.”