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News Desk: The two-minute satirical video portrays Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shooting at Chinese applications, which GT claims have stirred a “widespread condemnation and ridicule” among the Chinese users.
“The image of Modi is well portrayed in the video. Using the state machinery to crack down on private enterprises shows the true colors of the Bharatiya Janata Party in mobilizing populism.
It caters to the taste of the public but also damages the interests of the public,” Xie Chao, an assistant professor of Indian studies at Tsinghua University, was quoted by GT.
This is in reference to the Chinese app ban imposed by New Delhi on 118 apps in early September over security concerns. Earlier, New Delhi had imposed a ban on 59 key apps along with 47 more that included clones and different versions of some of the originals banned applications.
The government said the move would safeguard the interests of millions of Indian mobile and internet users. “The decision is a targeted move to ensure safety, security, and sovereignty of the Indian cyberspace.”
The developments followed the soaring tensions between India and China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh where the troops from both sides have clashed on more than one occasion. The first incident occurred in June when a violent clash broke out in the Galwan valley resulting in the death of 20 Indian soldiers.
Fresh tensions brewed when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “provocative actions” along the LAC — south of the Pangong Tso Lake.
The tabloid quoted several observers saying that “it is shocking to see the prime minister of a country is portrayed as a hero in killing innocent app operators from a neighboring country. It is the product of misguided and extreme nationalism.”