‘Look who’s talking’: Smriti Irani hits back after Rahul Gandhi’s dig at PM Modi

It all started with Rahul Gandhi taking a swipe at Narendra Modi, saying the PM was not in a position to lead by example on his counsel against self-promotion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advice to bureaucrats not to use social media for self- promotion today led to a spat between Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi at Parliament during the budget session. (PTI)

It began with the Congress vice president taking a swipe at Modi, saying he was not in a position to lead by example on his counsel against self-promotion.

“Leading by example is clearly overrated,” Gandhi said on Twitter, after Modi told bureaucrats on Friday not to use social media for self-promotion or spend too much time online.

Irani has had frequent run-ins with Gandhi ever since she unsuccessfully contested from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat in 2014 against the Congress leader.

The Prime Minister actively uses the social media to connect with the public and is the most followed leader on Twitter and Instagram in the country.

Modi has 29.3 million followers on Twitter and has emerged as the most followed world leader on photo-sharing app Instagram with a whopping 6.9 million followers, surpassing US President Donald Trump.