Modi drops chowkidar prefix: says it remains integral part of him

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday removed the 'chowkidar' prefix from his Twitter handle but said the word remains an integral part of him.

Modi had added chowkidar in his Twitter handle on March 17, a day after launching the "Main Bhi Chowkidar (I am a watchman too)" campaign on social media.

"Now, the time has come to take the Chowkidar Spirit to the next level.

Keep this spirit alive at every moment and continue working for India's progress," he tweeted.

Several BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley also followed suit and dropped the prefix from their profiles.

Modi said the word 'Chowkidar' goes from his Twitter name, "but it remains an integral part of me. Urging you all to do the same too!"

The campaign was launched days after the Lok Sabha polls were announced on March 10 to counter Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's repeated "chowkidar chor hai" (watchman is a thief) jibes on Modi over alleged irregularities in the Rafale jet deal.

Gandhi had latched on to the jibe in most of his election rallies.

During the 2014 election campaign Modi had said that he would work like a chowkidar to protect people's money and interests once elected.