Modi trends on Twitter after tech glitch during WEF speech

NEW DELHI: Was it a technical glitch or a teleprompter failure? That is the question Narendra Modi’s critics and supporters are fighting over after the prime minister was forced to restart his virtual address at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Davos agenda.

A few seconds into his WEF address Monday, the PM could be seen pausing before looking to his left. He then plugged in his earphones before checking with WEF Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab if he was audible. After Schwab responded in the affirmative, the PM restarted his address.

The interruption lasted a little under two minutes.

Just after the incident, Modi’s critics in the Opposition alleged that he ran out of words as his teleprompter failed, alluding to past criticism from leaders like Rahul Gandhi that Modi can’t speak if he isn’t fed words on a teleprompter.

With the hashtag ‘#TeleprompterPM’, the official Twitter handle of the Congress party attributed the glitch to a teleprompter issue. Referring to a Bollywood song, it said: “Teleprompter guy: Achha chalta hun, duaon mein yaad rakhna (Alright I’m leaving, keep me in your prayers)”.