Representing 1.5 billion people, Modi has an advantage on Facebook: Trump
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who represents "1.5 billion" Indians, has an advantage on Facebook, while referring to the number of followers the two leaders have on the social networking website.
Trump, who will visit India next week, said Modi is "number two" on Facebook in terms of followers and that he is number one as told to him directly by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
"I'm going to India next week, and we're talking about -- you know, they have 1.5 billion people. And Prime Minister Modi is number two on Facebook, number two. Think of that. You know who number one is? Trump. You believe that? Number one. I just found out," Trump said during his commencement address at the Hope for Prisoners Graduation Ceremony in Las Vegas.
As per official estimates, India's population currently is 1.3 billion people.
Facebook pages on Thursday reflected that Modi is followed by 44 million people, while the account of Trump by 27 million. The US population is estimated to be 325 million.
During his address, Trump said he was recently congratulated by Zuckerberg for being the number one on Facebook.
"The head of Facebook Mr Zuckerberg came in three weeks ago. He said, 'Congratulations.' I said, 'On what?' He said, 'You're number one on Facebook.' I said, 'That's cool.' Number one on Twitter too," the president said, amidst laughter from the audience.
"That's because -- it's true. And if I wasn't, I could never say it because it would be breaking news that Trump told a fib. No, number one," he said, adding that he has congratulated Modi on this.
"And I congratulated Prime Minister Modi. I said, "But, you know, you have 1.5 billion people. I have 350 million. You have an advantage," Trump said, during his commencement address referring to one of his conversations with Modi.
This is not the first time that the US President has claimed to be the number one and Prime Minister Modi number two on their popularity on Facebook. Last week, Trump took to Twitter and claimed to be the number one on Facebook citing Zuckerberg.
Even last month, in an interview to CNBC TV on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said, "I'm No.1 on Facebook, you know who's no.2? Modi from India".
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
