Having launched a survey asking whether people support the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and to give a missed call on a number, Zee News – one of the leading news channels in India – triggered a meme-fest on Twitter, as people slammed the channel for running the polling campaign in favour of the contentious law.
Some netizens call it “propaganda” while others write that it's “Godi Medi”, a term popularly referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-supporting media.
As per Zee News, more than 1.9 million Indians have given their support to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
While some lambasted the channel for spreading propaganda, others mocked it with jokes and memes.
The CAA grants citizenship to illegal immigrants from six religious minorities – Hindus, Parsis, Jains, Christians, Buddhists, and Sikhs from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, if they arrived in India prior to 31 December 2014. Notably, however, it excludes Muslims – a decision viewed by many protesters as a violation of the Indian constitution.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, has said that the act "doesn't target any Indian citizen", and insisted that the law is not anti-Muslim.