Selfies with Modi: Government turns to selfie craze to promote PM's image

Similar to the famous song from Salman Khan's film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, The Center is encouraging you to "Chal Beta, selfie le le re."

In government buildings all around India, self-portraits featuring cutouts or life-size portraits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have become commonplace.

This is not the first time the government has tried to sell Indians on the "Modi model of governance" by taking advantage of the selfie craze. But the most recent move coincides with five states getting ready to cast ballots for a general election that is scheduled for next summer.

The Prime Minister's identity is linked to national successes like the moon mission and different government welfare projects through the visuals at these selfie spots.

If the idea is effective, the Indian public would serve as its main motor as it transforms a commonplace aspect of contemporary life into a platform for Modi's electoral campaign.

To highlight the ministry's accomplishments over the previous nine years, the defence ministry has sent instructions to all of its divisions requesting that they set up selfie spots—more than 800 of them—with images of Modi. The move has been denounced by some veterans of the armed services as "politicization" of the defense forces before of the Lok Sabha elections.

Brigadier Hardeep Singh Sohi, a decorated veteran, wrote on the X platform, "For Indian Armed Forces, Constitution of India is supreme," and shared a picture of himself taking a selfie at the Army Hospital (Research and Referral). The leadership of political parties will always change, but it's critical that the Armed Forces retain their apolitical nature.

"The government should have instructed Cantt Boards to engage the public to promote their accomplishments or earn Selfie Points."

The Telegraph was informed by a former lieutenant general, "Why should the armed forces be involved in government propaganda? This is nothing more than the defense forces being politicized in front of the general election.

According to a retired colonel, it is "a violation of military traditions" to involve the defense forces in such a "political exercise."

"The overall initiative to have the Defense Ministry set up selfie spots using the prime minister's picture smells like a militarization of the armed services. He claimed that it is only a political ploy to win over supporters.

According to a ministry official, defense minister Rajnath Singh decided to set up selfie spots during a review meeting in September.

The defense ministry official stated, "We have received instructions that the selfie points should be installed at strategic sites throughout the nation, such as train and metro stations, war memorials, museums dedicated to defense, bus depots, airports, shopping centers and marketplaces, tourist attractions, schools and colleges, and festival gatherings.

He declared that the defense ministry's initiatives and reforms to strengthen national security during the previous nine years would be the focus of these selfie points.

The Border Roads Organization, the Coast Guard, the Defence Public Sector Undertakings, the Defence Research and Development Organization, the Sainik Schools, and the National Cadet Corps are among the departments and organizations under the defense ministry that have been ordered to put up these selfie spots.

Additionally, the ministry is developing a specific app that would allow users to post selfies to social media.

Certain institutes under its purview have started the process of creating selfie points on the advice of the Union science minister. They have been given guidelines on how the selfie posters are supposed to showcase the accomplishments of the institution.

This publication was informed by two individuals who claimed to have read the instructions that the following was included in the specifications: (1) A photo of the prime minister standing should be included; (2) an image of the prime minister should be included; (3) the image should be high-resolution and in the jpeg format; (4) the display should be placed so that the greatest number of people can view it; and (5) the selfie poster should measure six feet in height by three feet in width.

"It is true that we have been given these instructions and the process of setting up the selfie point is underway," a scientist from a department of science and technology-funded organization stated (DST).

Employees of the Indian National Science Academy in New Delhi have already set up a selfie station and are sharing their photos on social media.

Two additional experts, one from a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) institution and the other from a Department of Biotechnology (DBT) institution, claimed their respective organizations were getting ready to set up similar selfie spots.

The Union science ministry is home to the DBT, DST, and CSIR departments. Thus far, our newspaper has not received a response to its inquiries over the selfie-point program directed at DBT and DST officials.

The Archaeological Survey of India, which oversees some of the country's most well-known landmarks and draws tens of thousands of tourists annually, is developing selfie spots, according to a senior official who spoke to this publication.

According to sources, the railway board has sent specifications for 3D selfie points to every zone. The purpose of these displays is to showcase the achievements of the Modi government, including the provision of gas connections, tap water connections, rural electrification, Covid-19 vaccinations, and India's space projects.

The Union education ministry had posted Prime Minister cutouts in state capitals as a backdrop for kids and their parents to take photos against during the Pariksha Pe Charcha initiative earlier this year. This will probably still be the case in 2024.

The Prime Minister will launch the Center's two-month Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, a demonstration of the government's welfare initiatives, on November 15, the anniversary of Birsa Munda's birth in the Jharkhand district of Khunti. The selfie drive is a prelude to this event.

In a petition addressed to President Droupadi Murmu and the Election Commission, retired bureaucrats and academics have called attention to the Yatra and the defence ministry's selfie drive, requesting that government workers not be used for these initiatives.

The Prime Minister has been cautioned by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge not to "misuse government machinery" for the Yatra.

On October 23, however, the Central Bureau of Communication—which falls under the purview of the ministry of information and broadcasting—launched a tender for Yatra publicity materials.

In constituencies with upcoming elections, the EC has postponed the Yatra until December 5. After polls are announced, all political and government publicity materials in the polling places are either hidden or vandalized. Following that, political parties post new publicity materials, which must be reported to the election authorities. During this period, official publicity is not permitted.