Much ado about Boris Johnson’s visit to JCB factory. See Twitter reactions

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during his two-day visit to India, inaugurated a factory of UK-headquartered heavy equipment maker JCB in Gujarat and immediately sparked off a meme-fest online. Johnson shared a video which shows him hopping onto a JCB bulldozer at Halol in Panchmahal district of Gujarat on Thursday.

Boris Johnson was accompanied on his visit to the JCB plant by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

It’s been a real pleasure to be in Gujarat today to see the fruits of the incredible partnership between the UK and our friends in India.

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Today we have confirmed more than £1 billion in new investments between our two great countries, creating almost 11,000 new jobs in the UK. pic.twitter.com/dvR0OG775n

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 21, 2022

On desi Twitter, where yellow JCB excavators have somehow managed to gain cult status with ‘JCB ki khudai’ memes, the sight of the UK prime minister on a JCB vehicle was meme fodder. Predictably, reactions came in fast and furious. Take a look:

JCB share price pic.twitter.com/RXrJ6AsRbw

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— Armoured_assault (@Vivek_707) April 21, 2022

#JCBKIKHUDAI .. Boris Johnson pic.twitter.com/Qu31P72iQg

— Er R K DAHARWAL आर के डहरवालرکدہاروال (@DaharwalK) April 21, 2022

My first priority after travelling 4,000 to India was to spend time with a billionaire Tory donor in his JCB factory. pic.twitter.com/yfh5F5yGIy

— Parody Boris (@Parody_PM) April 21, 2022

Boris JCB pic.twitter.com/7RrCZUZpfR

— Zubin Ashara (@zubinashara) April 21, 2022

A section of the internet, however, found the memes tone-deaf in the backdrop of demolition of properties that took place in Delhi's Jahangirpuri. British newspapers like The Independent and the Guardian condemned Johnson for visiting a JCB plant at a time when the company’s bulldozers were used to carry out controversial demolitions in Delhi.

The Independent called it “unfortunate timing”, while The Guardian noted that his visit was met with backlash.

Amnesty India called the visit "ignorant"

In the backdrop of Municipal Corporation of Delhi using JCB bulldozers to raze down shops of Muslims in Northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri yesterday, UK Prime Minister's inauguration of a JCB factory in Gujarat is not only ignorant but his silence on the incident is deafening.
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— Amnesty India (@AIIndia) April 21, 2022

After arriving in Gujarat on Thursday, Boris Johnson reached Delhi late on Thursday night. He was received at the airport by Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.

Boris Johnson’s visit is expected to give a fresh push to the proposed free trade agreement, boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and enhance defence ties, and he will not lecture New Delhi on how to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, people familiar with the development said.

A major focus of Johnson's talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on the situation in the Indo-Pacific as the UK is strongly opposed to any kind of coercion in the region, they said on Wednesday.