The internet is occasionally flooded with Modi-Meloni memes, which jokingly portray the romance between the two prime ministers.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Friday called online memes about Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Prime Minister Narendra Modi “utterly embarrassing” and said the jokes reflect the “low level” of humour in the country.
“These memes about Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Prime Minister Modi have gone too far. They are totally embarrassing and do not accurately reflect the level of humour prevalent in India. Just saying,” Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Another post showed a fictitious phone call between the two. Such memes went viral on social media, especially during the G20 summit in India and after the Bharatiya Janata Party failed to secure a majority in the Indian parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, netizens also created #Melodi linking Meloni and Modi’s names.
However, Meloni used the hashtag in a selfie he posted with Modi after meeting him on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai last December.
“Meeting with Italian Prime Minister @GiorgiaMeloni on the sidelines of the #COP28 summit. I trust in India-Italy joint efforts towards a prosperous and sustainable future… Good friends at COP28 #Melodi,” the Italian PM wrote.
PM Modi is currently in Italy to attend the G7 summit at the invitation of PM Meloni. He arrived late on Thursday (local time), marking his first foreign visit since he became prime minister for a third consecutive term following the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA in the 2024 elections.
On Friday, PM Modi will attend the G7 Outreach Meeting in the Italian region of Puglia. He will hold bilateral meetings on a range of issues with heads of state and government, including Mr Meloni.
He is also scheduled to meet US President Joe Biden, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Italy will host the G7 summit in the resort town of Fasano from June 13-15. The wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas are expected to dominate the discussion at the summit.