Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have found themselves at the center of a meme storm over a parody video. Prime Minister Modi shared a video on his X account that uses AI technology to replace his face with a video of American rapper Lil Yachty dancing on stage. The original clip, which has become a popular meme, was edited to appear as if the prime minister himself was dancing.
The chief minister's post was seen as a response to a similar parody featuring West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, leading to harsh reactions from local authorities. After a video of the commercial dancing was shared by two His X users, they received a legal notice from the Cyber Crime Wing of Kolkata Police, demanding their personal information threatening legal action.
Nevertheless, although the notice has since been removed, the incident sparked a wave of criticism of the police's actions, which were seen as overly protective of the Chief Minister. BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya echoed the criticism, suggesting that the Kolkata police should focus on deeper issues rather than cracking down on memes. Kangana Ranaut, the BJP candidate for Mandi, also commented, advising Banerjee to soften up and criticizing her response as being too harsh.
Ranaut said, “Mamta didi ji, this is about taking sedatives. Aap bhi kabhi le riya karo, hamesha goose mein reti ho, bachchon ne aapka dance meme kya bana diya, aap toh poop jail mein dharne. liga (You are also on tranquilizers and are angry all the time. Some kids made a dance video of you and you are trying to put them in jail). How uncool! ! I'm sorry, but you're formal, formal, and uncool. ”
The meme also sparked a debate about freedom of expression and the role of law enforcement in moderating online content.
