'Modi No Entry' flexes seen in Hyderabad ahead of PM's Telangana visit

"Modi No Entry" flexes have surfaced ahead of PM Modi's visit to Hyderabad on Saturday. The flexes were put up by Chenetha Youth Force on Thursday, 10 November, 2022 and they demand the roll back of the 5% GST imposed on handloom products.

PM Modi is visiting Ramagundam in Telangana today to inaugurate the Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited factory. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will not be in attendance as has been the case with other events involving the Prime Minister. Citing that the plant which the Prime Minister will inaugurate today went into commercial production one year ago, the ruling TRS party, left parties, and their allies have termed the visit simply a meaningless gimmick.

The flex is not the only case of pushback against the Prime Minister's visit to Telangana. Earlier, handloom weavers from the state sent in lakhs of handwritten postcards demanding that the centre roll back the 5% GST imposed on handloom products and raw materials. The call to action given by KT Rama Rao, who is the Handlooms and Textile Minister, launched the postcard campaign.

The campaign against Modi's visit to the state also reveals people's displeasure with the Centre for not fulfilling the promises of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation act 2014 that was drafted when the state of Telangana was formed. Ergo, the state civic bodies, student organisations, workers' unions and associations of intellectuals have called into question the moral right of the PM to visit the state.

Protestors across the state have brought up various issues such as the disinvestment of coal mines in the Singareni Colleries Company Limited, wherein the centre plans to disinvest 49% of its stake. Professors, intellectuals and students have cited the issue of unkept promises by the Centre such as the Bayyaram steel and Kazipet coach factory as well as the tribal university, all of which have been allotted land, but no further action seems to be in sight. As a result, many people across Telangana have taken to the street to oppose the PM's visit by using the "Go back Modi" slogan.

The "Go Back Modi" slogan first gained popularity ahead of the Prime Minister's visit to Tamil Nadu to inaugurate the defence exhibition in April 2018. However, a similar drive was first seen in Kerala in May 2016 before the PM's visit to the state to campaign for the elections. Social media platforms saw the hastag #PoMoneModi in Malayalam trending around that time to oppose his visit.