A few days ago, social media was abuzz with news of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s generous gift to a Twitter user named Shilpi Tewari.
It all began when Tewari (@shiplitewari) tweeted to the PM, saying she had her eye on a peacock blue scarf that Modi was wearing during the unveiling of the 112-feet Shiva bust in Coimbatore on 24 February.
Before you know it, the peacock blue scarf was sent to her doorstep along with a printout of her tweet, complete with an autograph of the Prime Minister, in true celebrity fashion.
Who is Shilpi Tewari?
As it turns out, the recipient of the stole was no ordinary Twitter user. Several news publications carried the story, referring to her as “THIS girl”, “a fan” or just “a woman”.
Shilpi Tewari is, in fact, a former close aide of Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani. She reportedly managed Irani’s 2014 campaign in Amethi.
Tewari was previously in the news for allegedly sharing doctored videos of the ‘sedition’ incident at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on social media in 2016.
PM Modi and Arun Jaitley are among her most prominent followers on Twitter.
While the generosity of the incident cannot be denied, it remains to be said that the recipient was not an ordinary member of the public but a volunteer of the ruling BJP.