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This is not the first time the Congress has mentioned PM Narendra Modi’s deceased mother in its campaign. But this is the first time the party officially has done so
This will give more ammunition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has already started hitting back. (File)
On September 10, Bihar Congress posted an AI-generated video of what appears to be look-alikes of Prime Minister Modi and his mother, the late Heeraben. The imaginary conversation is political, to say the least.
This will give more ammunition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has already started hitting back. The party’s national spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawala, alleged, “Mahila aur Maatru shakti ka apman is Congress ki pehchaan (Congress’s identity is disrespect to women and women power).” Poonawala called the video “disgusting” and said that the Congress has “crossed all limits”.
BJP’s National General Secretary Radha Mohan Das Agarwal termed it as “shame and only shame”. He sought legal action by the Delhi Police and requested the Delhi Police Commissioner to initiate a complaint.
The party’s spokesperson and a face in the south, C.R. Kesavan, who was himself a former Congressman, called the party “misogynistic”. “Does the Indian National Congress now infamously stand for Insult Nari Shakti,” he asked in a video statement he issued. He called the video “uncouth”.
This is not the first time the Congress has mentioned PM’s deceased mother in the campaign. But this is the first time the party officially has done so.
When PM Modi replied to the opposition
First in Bihar’s Darbhanga, on August 27, during the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ organised by Congress and RJD, slogans allegedly containing abusive remarks against PM Modi and his mother were shouted from the stage.
The Prime Minister himself took on the opposition when he replied, “What happened in Bihar a few days ago, I hadn’t even imagined it. From the RJD-Congress platform in Bihar, my mother was abused. These abuses are not just an insult to my mother, it is an insult to the mothers, sisters, and daughters of the country.”
Huge posters erupted across Bihar and NDA leaders raising it in public meetings, particularly among women, making it a big electoral issue, making the Mahagathbandhan uncomfortable. But instead of letting it slip away from public memory, the Congress jogged it with a brand new AI-generated video, giving fresh ammunition into BJP’s hand.
Not the first time
It has been historically proven for the Congress, every time Modi was personally targeted, it has boomeranged for the grand old party. Even when he wasn’t a Prime Minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar suggested, “Narendra Modi will never become the Prime Minister of the country…But if he wants to distribute tea here, we will find a place for him.” Modi went on to become the country’s Prime Minister.
In 2018, Aiyar again, called Modi “neech.” “He (Modi) is neech kism ka aadmi who has no sabhyata (civility),” Aiyar had said about Modi. Addressing an election rally in Surat, Modi hit back at Aiyar and connected it with Modi’s caste. “Mani Shankar Aiyar has called me neech and from nichli jaati (lower caste). Is this not an insult to Gujarat? Is it not an insult to India’s great values? But people of Gujarat will take revenge on December 18 and teach you the precise meaning of neech,” Modi said. The Congress did not win the election.
During the Rafale Jet controversy, Rahul Gandhi linked a court order and had said the “court has agreed that chowkidar chor hai.” He made “Chowkidar chor hai” his election accusation during the 2019 Lok Sabha poll. In retort, PM Modi prefixed his name in all social media platforms with ‘Chowkidar’ and asked his followers to follow. While Modi won it with a landslide victory, in the court, Gandhi submitted an unconditional apology for wrongfully attributing the comment to the court.
And these are just a few specimens from a vast array of examples of personal attacks on PM Modi that backfired on Congress. Now with this AI-generated video by Bihar Congress, dragging in his deceased mother — one can expect PM Modi himself raising the issue the next time he is in Bihar.
Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in …Read More
Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in … Read More
September 12, 2025, 13:52 IST
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