PM Modi and cultivating timber

We all know how enamoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi is with technology. Heck, he ran the whole 2014 election campaign (and his regime since) on words like “technology”, “development”, “innovation” and “entrepreneurship”. It seems, however, that technology is just not on the PM’s side this time.

In the latest episode of his monthly podcast Mann Ki Baat,  which was broadcasted on July 31, 2016, Modi asked his “kisan bhai” (farmer brothers) to, ahem, do “timber ki kheti” (cultivate fields of timber). And as always, Twitter exploded with potshots directed at the PM.

This, erm, wooden conversation started when the PM was talking about the benefits of afforestation and shared a story of a man in Pune named Khandu Maruti Mhaatre who, at the wedding of granddaughter, distributed Keshar Mango saplings to all the guests. From there, Modi went on speak about the timber ki kheti and how it can save the country millions of rupees, which is spent in importing timber to make furniture.

Admittedly, he didn’t exactly say “timber ke ped” (timber trees), which is what started trending on Twitter (even Dainik Bhaskar went with that phrase), but we’ve got to admit “timber ki kheti” really isn’t much better. Especially when you keep in mind that ours is a country in which agriculture is a primary source of livelihood for a majority of the population.

Besides this, some also expressed their disappointment over PM’s silence on critical issues like the ongoing conflict in Kashmir and Dalit rights.