Washington: In what has stirred a hornet's nest on social media, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal while launching his US presidential bid fro 2016 elections, expressed his displeasure over being called an “Indian-American”, evoking a volley of hilarious as well as angry remarks from Twitteratis.
Louisiana Governor Jindal launched his presidential bid on Wednesday, citing the story of his parents who came to America in search of a land where “the people were free, and the opportunities were real”.
My name is Bobby Jindal, I am the Governor of the great state of Louisiana, and I am running for President of the United States.
— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) June 24, 2015
However, one of the remarks blurted out by Jindal did not go down well with Indians and the Louisiana State Governor was lambasted on Twitter for what some people construed as him “being ashamed of being an Indian”.
Expressing his annoyance over people trying to divide Americans, Jindal, who is the first person of Indian-origin to be contesting for the US presidential election, said that he was “sick and tired” of people hyphenating Americans.
“And it’s time we stopped trying to divide ourselves against each other. Hillary Clinton is already trying to divide us by ethnicity, by gender, and by economic status. As for me, I’m sick and tired of people dividing Americans,” he said.
We are not Indian-Americans, Irish–Americans, African–Americans, rich Americans, or poor Americans – we are all Americans.
— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) June 24, 2015
However, Jindal's remark was scoffed at by Indians who saw it as his dislike for being tagged an Indian.
Twitteraties went hysterical over his “Indian-American remark” so much so that #BobbyJindalIsSoWhite was trending on Twitter with thousands of tweets taking a dig at the Louisiana Governor.
Netizens also mocked Jindal's another comment where he said, “I’m running for President without permission from headquarters in Washington DC But rest assured — I’m tanned, rested, and ready for this fight.
Someone on Twitter named Yogini slammed Jindal for his “tanned” comment saying, “It is one thing to mentally deny being Indian but tan?”
Here are few tweets:
#Jindian a new word in the dictionary. An Indian who is ashamed of his Indian identity #bobbyjindalissowhite
— Parnad (@parnad) June 25, 2015
"@BobbyJindal: But rest assured -- I’m tanned, rested, and ready for this fight." It is one thing to mentally deny being Indian but tan?
— Yogini (@yoginisd) June 25, 2015
#BobbyJindalIsSoWhite that he has to be washed separately in warm water.
— Damsel in This Dress (@secondofhername) June 25, 2015
#BobbyJindalIsSoWhite he won't be allowed into a Swiss bank
— Neeti Palta (@neetipalta) June 25, 2015
#BobbyJindalIsSoWhite that he's approached to play Snow White in the Disney's sequel of "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs"
— Aladdin (@Alllahdin) June 25, 2015
#BobbyJindalIsSoWhite we used to put him on our PT shoes
— Neeti Palta (@neetipalta) June 25, 2015
#bobbyjindalissowhite he could get cast as a backup dancer in a Bollywood film.
— Sarita A Tanwar (@SaritaTanwar) June 25, 2015
Don't miss the powder on Jindal's face in this 'family time' photograph. #BobbyJindalIsSoWhite https://t.co/2636uQVyZr
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) June 25, 2015
#bobbyjindalissowhite he only orders kebabs at Indian restaurants & complains that the water is "too spicy."
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) June 25, 2015
#bobbyjindalissowhite Nikki Haley thinks he's a coconut sellout.
— The Fleekness Stakes (@Kuahmel) June 25, 2015
you might be a #Jindian if u lightened your skin in an official Portrait. #bobbyjindalissowhite
— aasif mandvi (@aasif) June 24, 2015