No Mr PM, it's not 'theek hai': Twitterati tells Manmohan Singh

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s interrogative ’theek hai’ remark which inadvertently went on air along with his address to the nation on the Delhi gangrape incident drew some flak on social media on Tuesday. On Tuesday, ‘Theek hai’ (which means alright in Hindi) continued to be one of the top trending posts on Twitter along with ‘Subhash Tomar’, the constable who died two days after the violent protests and clashes, and ‘Merry Christmas’. “Silence is truly golden if the spoken word is rusted and needs drastic polishing!!!,” film maker Karan Johar said in a tweet followed by the ’thik hai’ hashtag. [caption id=“attachment_569197” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] While Johar’s comment did not specifically refer to the Prime Minister’s nationally televised speech yesterday in which the remark went on air due to editing error, the ’thik hai’ hash tag pointed to the purport of the sentence. Socialite Suhel Seth included the now famous phrase in his Christmas and New Year wishes in a sarcastic fashion. “Here’s wishing all of you a Theek Hai Merry Christmas and an even more Theek Hai 2013!,” Seth tweeted. A section of the Twitterati was apparently not assuaged by the Prime Minister’s speech in which he made an appeal for calm. “Mr Prime Minister, You should know what is Theek Hai and what is not. This is not how you treat women,” a comment went. Others adopted a philosophical approach to the situation. “But good to see we have progressed from chaltahai to theek hai. It suits our overall fatalistic approach to life and society,” a tweet said. Another tweet was a comment on the current situation in the Capital.  “Central Delhi Metros still shut; autos won’t go the whole way; Theek Hai Chal ke jayenge :),” the user tweeted. On the social networking site Facebook, the innocuous comment–theek hai--featured even in Christmas wishes. “Here’s hoping the next Christmas is merrier than this one. ’thik hai’,” commented one of the users. Earlier, film actor Anupam Kher tweeted–PM’s ‘Theek Hai’ at d end of his Address (to the person behind camera) was d most Candid & Natural expression I have EVER seen from him. Other tweets on Twitter reflected more sarcasm and anger. “Our Prime Minister needs a new speech writer…,” an angry tweet said. Another tweet referred to the suspension of Doordarshan staff on the charge that they could not reach in time to record the PM’s message. “Why did they dismiss doordarshan officials for theek hai? it was such a wonderful word,” the tweet went. And one of the twitter users on finding out the popularity that the phrase had gained on the site was surprised at how much the discussion the faux pas had generated. “Theek Hai - still the top trend on twitter!! Impressed by how much we talk about the PM even if he speaks only 2 words…,” a tweet which reflected the sentiments in the social media. PTI