Since the itinerary for the visit of US President Donald Trump to India was announced, the opposition Congress party has been aggressively questioning and criticising the Narendra Modi government on its preparations for the trip.
A frequent theme of these criticisms has been the wall built by the Gujarat government near the Ahmedabad airport, which critics claim is an attempt to "hide" slums from the view of Trump.
In a series of Twitter posts on Monday morning, the Congress described the wall in Ahmedabad as a "wall of failure" and "wall of division".It referred to Modi's tenure as chief minister of Gujarat for 12.5 years and as India's prime minister for six years. Interestingly, the image used was a still from a video that Modi shared in June 2018 showing his exercise regimen.
It's an inhuman tragedy that has taken place in Gujarat where a wall has been built to hide a slum. This wall is symbolic of all the distractions BJP comes up with to hide their failures in the economy & our society. #WallOfDivision pic.twitter.com/CEuizaG3VV
— Congress (@INCIndia) February 24, 2020
One of the first tweets with the hashtag #WallofDivision said, "It's an inhuman tragedy that has taken place in Gujarat where a wall has been built to hide a slum. This wall is symbolic of all the distractions BJP comes up with to hide their failures in the economy & our society."
Going beyond the topic of Trump's visit, the Congress argued the wall in Ahmedabad symbolised the Modi government's political failures. "A wall has been built in Gujarat but a greater one has been built in the hearts & minds of Indians—it is the wall of hatred. This wall constantly aims to divide our society and it is only us and our unity that can break it," it tweeted.
The Congress also used the wall to point out, "no wall can hide the fact that unemployment in India is at a 45-year high due to BJP's own failed economic policies".
The Congress even used a graphic of a wall to showcase what it claims were the government's discriminatory economic policies. It tweeted, "BJP's crony capitalism & failed economic policies have increased the gap between the rich & the poor. The needs of the people have been completely ignored by this government.”
Since the weekend, the Congress has been pressing the Modi government to announce its priorities for the Trump visit.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked why Prime Minister Modi is silent about "India First" as President Trump talked of "America First".
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He also asked whether Modi would ensure cheaper oil for India after it stopped buying oil from Iran in view of sanctions and whether Indian steel exports would get a boost after India commits to $3 billion in defence purchases.
On Sunday, the Congress tweeted a number of videos featuring its experts commenting on the Trump visit. National spokespersons Supriya Shrinate, Jaiveer Shergill and Sanjay Jha spoke on issues such as the absence of a trade deal and H1B visa curbs.
