'Wrong, don't support it': Tejashwi Yadav distances his party from Congress's 'Bihar, Bidi' post
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has distanced his party from a viral post by the Congress's Kerala unit, which claimed both "Bihar and Bidi start with B".
The post triggered massive flak from the BJP, which targeted the RJD-Congress Mahagathbandhan and accused it of insulting Bihar and Biharis.
Responding to the same, Yadav said the now-deleted tweet was "wrong" and that his party does not support it.
In an X post on Thursday night, the Kerala unit of Congress highlighted how the GST on cigarettes had been raised and bidis reduced in the reforms announced on Wednesday.
"Bidis and Bihar start with B. Cannot be considered a sin anymore," the post read, implying that the Centre had Bihar polls in mind while introducing the GST cut for bidis.
Bihar is one of the key centres of beedi manufacturing in India, and the industry employs over 70 lakh people in the country.
The Congress's Kerala unit later deleted the post and followed it up by sharing a screenshot of an NDTV report on the different rates for cigarettes and bidis.
"We see that our jibe at Modi's election gimmick with GST rates is being twisted. Our apologies if you felt hurt," it said.
Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary said the Congress's post was an "insult" to the state.
"By making a mockery of Bihar, the Congress has not only insulted the people of Bihar once again, but has also mocked the glorious history of the country and democracy," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
"Believe me, the great people of Bihar will give a befitting reply to the repeated insults by the Congress in the upcoming assembly elections," he added.
BJP's national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the post reflects the Congress's "anti-Bihar mentality". "If they're saying B for Bidis and B for Bihar, then they should also know C for Congress and C for corruption," Poonawalla said.
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said the post depicts Congress's "negative thinking".
"The frustration that they're losing public support, the frustration that the Gandhi family is no longer liked by the people of India, is reflected in their actions. It is condemnable that the Congress sought to insult the people of Bihar. First, they insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother. Now they have insulted the people of Bihar. I don't know who they will insult tomorrow," he told the media.
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