Nitin Gadkari-toll memes have become inescapable, much like toll plazas. | Image courtesy: PTI
Photo : PTI
Fresh off the heels of a recent increase in toll tax, there’s a running joke on social media involving Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, the premise being that it’s impossible to escape toll booths on India’s roads and highways. What started with a few memes soon turned into an avalanche of pop-culture references, with the ubiquity of Gadkari’s tolled roadways as their central theme.
Templates such as “Zindagi ek safar hai suhana, aage toll padega, dete jaana”; “Ghar se nikalte hi, kuch door chalte hi, raste mein hai mera toll” and “Main nikla gaddi leke…Ek toll aaya” caught on.
No song was spared, no film overlooked as X users came up with their own Gadkari toll memes. Some exaggerations seemingly got out of hand.
“Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra not to feature in Dhoom4 amidst YRF’s concerns of added toll by Nitin Gadkari,” joked one.
Many also contemplated the origin of these memes, which are only traceable to the first few posts.
“Looking at the Gadkari toll memes and thinking where’s it’s all coming from, can’t help wondering who would this campaign help the most to demolish a rare minister in the central cabinet who has an identity of his own outside Modi’s shadow,” read a post.
But, there were theories, including Centre’s recent announcement of a toll hike.
One explanation was that memers jumping on the content bandwagon of “Nitin Gadkari and toll tax have never even paid a toll tax single time.”
While this memefest continues to elude any definitive origin, it’s probably the biggest political trend in over a decade, outside of elections and stock market fluctuations, where people showed no restraint in taking aim at a nationwide issue.
This comes amid whispers of a satellite-based toll collection system that’s expected to increase revenue.
In the financial year 2023-24, toll collection in India reached a five-year high of Rs 64,809.86 crore, which marked a 34.9% increase from the preceding year.
Commercial vehicles, including trucks, account for about 75% of the annual toll revenue.
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