New Delhi: Bharat zameen ka tukda nahi, jeeta jagta rashtrapurush hai (India is not a piece of land, it is a living, breathing being), says Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the minister of the newly-created Jal Shakti ministry, at the start of a presentation on water conservation for BJP MPs.
The presentation, held at the BJP Parliamentary meeting Tuesday, was meant to provide a roadmap for water conservation in the country under the Jal Shakti scheme, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet projects in his second term.
Instead, it descended into a demonstration on how the scheme’s keywords have successfully trended on Google Analytics and the Twitter impressions they have created, all the while interspersed with paeans to Prime Minister Modi, “the baton holder for water conservation globally”.
With a smattering of cliches here and there, the thrust of the presentation remained on how water conservation has become a social media phenomenon in India ever since Modi began talking about it in his Mann ki Baat on 30 June.
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’26 million impressions for the #JanShakti4JalShakti‘
According to the presentation, there have been over 26 million impressions for the #JanShakti4JalShakti since 30 June. “Google trends suggest that most people now associate water with Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the presentation said.
“Google Trends shows a historic jump in the interest of the nation towards water conservation after Mann ki Baat and Jal Shakti Abhiyan,” it added.
Rather curiously, the presentation stated that the “source of inspiration for the Jal Shakti Ministry” is the suggestions thrown up by Google when one types “India sanitation” or “India water.”
According to the presentation, the suggestions currently thrown up by Google when one types “India sanitation” in 2019 include “crisis”, “problem”, “open defecation”, and “diseases” among others.
But by 2024, the newly created ministry is hopeful that the suggestions thrown up by Google would include “success story”, “water in every tap”, “India water secure”, among others. The ministry has termed these Google suggestions its “vision”.
The presentation also ends how it starts — with a picture of the PM with folded hands standing next to water along with a quote from his 30 June speech. “Jab hum ek-jut hokar, mazbooti se prayas karte hain toh asambhav ko bhi sambhav kar sakte hain. Jab jan-jan judega, jal bachega (When we strive together for something, even the impossible becomes possible. When people come together, then we will be able to save water).”
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