Modi tweets to tag all along

Some of the tweets Indian PM Narendra Modi made on his Dhaka tour. Photo: Twitter

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday made journalism redundant for Bangladeshi media in a nice way.

With his personal media team touring with him, the tech-savvy premier was not only posting updates on his Twitter and Facebook pages on all the major developments taking place during his day in Dhaka, but was also uploading photographs and videos on the events.

This helped the media and the public follow his Dhaka visit almost live.

The first prime minister in the Indian sub-continent to utilise the social media, to keep the public informed about his activities, also posted about things that the media do not usually have access to.

While starting for Bangladesh, he tweeted: “Leaving for Bangladesh. This visit is going to strengthen the bond between our Nations, benefitting people of our countries & our region.”

To touch the hearts of the Bangladeshis, he posted several tweets in Bangla.

The first post in Bangla after he landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport reads: Òevsjv‡`k, Avwg Avgvi mv‡_ fvi‡Zi gvby‡li fvjevmv Ges ï‡f”Qv wb‡q AvmwQ|Ó which he translated into English this way: “Hello Bangladesh. I bring with me the affection & goodwill of the people of India.”

After he was received by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who broke protocol to greet him on the apron, Modi posted in Bangla: ÒcÖavbgš¿x †kL nvwmbv, Dò Af¨_©bvi Rb¨ ab¨ev`| Avwg GKwU my›`i mdi Avkv KiwQ, hv fviZ I evsjv‡`‡ki m¤úK©‡K my`„p Ki‡e|Ó In the next tweet he translated: “Thank you PM Sheikh Hasina for the warm welcome. I look forward to a very good visit that will strengthen ties between India & Bangladesh.”

In the evening, he posted a picture of him presenting a gift to PM Sheikh Hasina with a caption, “Presented a hand-woven tapestry from Venkatagiri, Andhra Pradesh woven in Jamdani style to PM Sheikh Hasina.”

Then again he put up a close-up of the tapestry's artwork showing “Kalpavriksh tree & the Kamadhenu cow”. Such finer details would not have otherwise come out in the public domain.

In the post “The bus services being flagged off are- Agartala-Kolkata Bus, Kolkata-Agartala bus & Dhaka- Guwahati bus services”, Modi's Twitter page uploaded a live YouTube link through which people could view the inauguration of the bus services.

Earlier in the day, when he visited the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi, Modi did not forget to take pictures of the house from the outside and inside and post those on Twitter.

One of his tweets on his visit to National Martyrs Memorial in Savar read: “Memorial gives impression of rising from the ashes like a phoenix. It symbolises courage & determination of people.”

In his Facebook post, followers could see Modi paying tributes to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman standing in front of his portrait. The post says: “Saluting an icon of democracy, a towering personality & a great friend of India, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”

Modi gave a similar post on Twitter.