Waves of laughter in the Valley as the Prime Minister waves at imaginary people

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen waving passionately from a boat during a Dal Lake cruise on Sunday. On Monday, the Valley was still in the grip of a wave of laughter.

A video shot by a news agency, which accompanied Modi during his one-day Kashmir trip and posted it on its Twitter handle, shows the Prime Minister enjoying a boat ride in the Dal Lake. But people are asking who he was waving at.

The only other people seen in the 64-second video are the security men, some in Modi’s boat and the rest in nearby vessels. No civilian can be seen anywhere.

Modi stands at the front of his boat and seems to be enjoying the lake’s serene surroundings and the view of the snow-packed Zabarwan hills. He then starts waving in all directions, as though to appreciative crowds.

A tweet from former chief minister Omar Abdullah dripped with sarcasm: “This camera person has done the Hon PM a huge disservice by not showing all the people furiously waving back because there is no way the PM would be waving at an empty lake.”