Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 97-year-old mother Hiraben today visited a bank in Gujarat's Gandhinagar to exchange her currency notes.

PM Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi reaches a bank in Gandhinagar (Gujarat) to exchange currency #DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/griZpGTpTD

— ANI (@ANI_news) November 15, 2016

'Exemplary'. This is how some on Twitter and in media described the move even as we wondered what the real point of the visit was. Was it meant to be a message to those who have been standing in lines and complaining?

Whether Hiraben visited the bank simply out of curiosity or genuine need is not known. But critics came down hard on Modi calling the move a political gimmick, criticising the prime minister for "pushing" her aged mother into doing this.

मोदीजी ने राजनीति के लिए माँ को लाइन में लगा ठीक नहीं किया। कभी लाइन में लगना हो तो मैं ख़ुद लाइन में लगूँगा, माँ को लाइन में नहीं लगाउँगा pic.twitter.com/wEO1TYATO7

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 15, 2016