Andolanjeevi: PM Modi's political coinage to attack protesters trends on social media

In the backdrop of the support to the farmers' protest by social activists, political groups and even international celebrities as well as teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, Modi on Monday said, "A new entity has come up in the country- 'Andolanjeevi'. They can be spotted wherever there is a protest, be it agitation by lawyers, students, or labourers, explicitly or implicitly."

"They cannot live without 'andolan', we have to identify them and protect the nation from them," he said while speaking in the Upper House of the Parliament.

While replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in the Rajya Sabha, Modi said that India was not merely the world’s largest democracy; it was the ‘mother of democracy’.

The PM also mentioned that a new kind of FDI had emerged in the country and it was ‘Foreign Destructive Ideology’.

“We need to be more aware to save the country from such an ideology,” he stated.

Soon after he made the 'Andolanjeevi' remark in the Parliament, the word trended on social media while some hit back at Modi. Activist Yogendra Yadav posting a video called the PM a "parasite depending on the fallures of the Congress" and slammed him for his attack on activists and protesting farmers as "andolanjivi" (andolanjeevi). 

BJP's Yuva Morcha leader Tejasvi Surya tweeted: "PM today adds new word to India's political lexicon : Andolan Jeevi. #PMinRajyaSabha."

Author and police officer Pranav Mahajan tweeted: "As asked by @PMOIndia @narendramodiJi to be cautious of #Andolanjeevis, let us try to identify #Andolanjeevi here."

Journalist-writer Madhavan Naryana has a different take on 'Andolanjeevis' and wrote: "When Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency, we saw Vajpayee, JP, George Fernandes and Advani become #Andolanjeevis . Just like Ambedkar,Gandhi and Lohia before Independence. #Andolanjeevi #Andolanjivi."

Meanwhile, TV host Tehseen Poonawalla shared an image on Twitter and posted: "Two #Andolanjeevis in love .❤ Now one #andolanjeevi has flown to Delhi and the other #andolanjivi is in Pune Maharashtra."