MUMBAI: Almost seven decades since India gained Independence, the roughshod riding ways of the politicians and the VVIPs had pushed aside the rights of the common man and made their everyday life more than difficult. But the ongoing campaign by news channel Times Now against the VVIP Raj has made people come together against such culture.

In keeping with the Times Now ‘Action Begins Here’ campaign launched on 25 February, it has created an impact with people from all walks of life rising in unison to voice against the VVIP culture. The expose on the VVIPs causing inconvenience and hardships to people even during emergencies has seen the campaign gather momentum claims the channel.

The channel first highlighted the special privilege at the railway station in Chandigarh, a special lane for VVIPs where they would zoom past while one was left to battle traffic jams. It resulted in the 'Only for VVIPs' lane being now opened for all.

It also brought to light the reserved special wards in a hospital in Bangalore for the VVIPs even as commoners struggled for a bed and even if they got one, they had to contend with rats and mosquitoes. Then, in Hyderabad where a special lane leads the VVIPs straight to the tarmac of the airport even as normal traffic leaves many a passengers stranded for hours!

On 8 March the channel flashed the traffic snarl from outside Mumbai's National Sports Club of India (NSCI) near Haji Ali to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link only because the Maharashtra Chief Minister's presence at the club made the cops stop other cars from entering NSCI. This led to unruly scenes as people argued with the cops. Later, the CM apologized for the inconvenience caused and promised immediate action into the matter.

The hashtag #VVIPRacism was trending on social media. There were over 26,000 tweets and 33.4 million impressions on Twitter in less than 48 hours. The issue trended globally at number one slot for more than 30 minutes during the News Hour show on 8 March.

The tweets and Facebook reactions are continuing to flow says the channel. Till 9 March morning these figures jumped to 347.1 million potential impressions. (Time Period: 25 February till 2 March, 10 am).