No-confidence motion debate creates history on Twitter

Congress President Rahul Gandhi interacts with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his speech in the Lok Sabha on no-confidence motion during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

NEW DELHI: With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the trust vote debate in Parliament on Friday, Twitterati created history with over 1.1 million related tweets over the weekend. The social media giant revealed that amid all the speeches, the conversations on Twitter peaked on the platform between 10.30 a.m. - 11.30 p.m. IST on July 20. Key hashtags that emerged on Twitter around the subject included #MonsoonSession, #NoConfidenceVote, #NoConfidenceMotion, #BhookampAaneWalaHai, #KyaHuaTeraVaada, #NoConfidencePolitics, #hugplomacy and #IndiaTrustsModi. "Twitter is the best place to know what is happening in your community, city or country. The ongoing #MonsoonSession of Parliament has again demonstrated that Twitter is the go-place for citizens to participate in real-time on the issues as they develop," Mahima Kaul, Head-Public, Policy and Government, Twitter India, said in a statement on Monday. "The conversation around #NoConfidenceMotion also surfaced tweets from around the country, and in multiple languages," she added. The Prime Minister tweeted: "Congress leaders feel I cant see them in the eye. They are correct. I am too small compared to them. How did one family treat Netaji Bose, Sardar Patel, Loknayak JP, Morarjibhai Desai, Charan Singh Ji, Chandra Shekhar Ji, Pranab Da, Deve Gowda Ji and Sharad Pawar Ji? Everyone knows." However, Rahul Gandhi said: "PM uses Hate, Fear and Anger in the hearts of some of our people to build his narrative. We are going to prove that Love and Compassion in the hearts of all Indians, is the only way to build a nation."