Sweet melody in Italy triggers a bitter political war at home

NEW DELHI: The portmanteau wrote itself. Now, it has a ring to it that could launch a thousand toffee. PM Narendra Modi landed in Italy early Wednesday, greeted his counterpart Georgia Meloni and, much to the delight of the political paparazzi, handed her a packet of ‘Melody’.Curiously, the name of the Parle toffee rhymed with what the internet has been calling the bonhomie between the two premiers for three years. The 12-second video of the ‘chocolaty’ exchange between PM Modi and Meloni crossed 10 crore views within hours. “PM Modi brought us a gift — a very, very good toffee: Melody,” Meloni said as Modi raised the packet before both broke into a hearty, knowing laugh. “Thank you for the gift,” she later posted on X.The ‘Melodi’ tag has been arecurring fixture of online trends whenever the two have met. It got something close to an official endorsement when Meloni used it as a hashtag on a selfie with PM Modi, posted during the COP28 meeting in the UAE in December 2023. The PM’s toffee diplomacy in Rome had the opposition back home in a flap. Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi said the PM was “busy handing out candies in Italy” while “an economic storm is raging over the country”.“Farmers, youth, women labourers and small traders are all in tears — the PM is laughing and making reels, while the BJP folks are clapping along. This isn’t leadership, it’s a farce,” he said. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, too, took a swipe at the PM. “Modiji wants the public to enjoy the ‘melody’ of speeches while surviving the ‘misery’ of his govt’s loot!” he said, citing domestic LPG prices that he said had spiked 121%. “Every aspect of the economy is suffering, but Modiji continues his PR, lecturing citizens to shoulder the burden of this grave economic storm,” Kharge alleged.Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal had his own take on the toffee discourse, albeit without referring to either Melody the sweet or Melodi the pair. “India’s TOFFEE TALE would surely be melody to the ears! Exports have grown nearly 166% since 2013-14,” he wrote on X.Later, responding to Rahul’s criticism of Modi’s choice of gift for the Italian PM, Goyal wondered why he had so much “hate” for India and Indian products. “India has become a trusted destination for the world through its ‘made in India’ and ‘local goes global’ initiatives but Congress can find only problems in every Indian achievement,” he said, alleging that Rahul couldn’t stomach the country’s “rising stature under PM Modi’s governance”.The Prime Minister was in Italy on the last leg of his five-country nation visit. Meloni hosted him for dinner and accompanied him on a tour of the Colosseum.