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Time of India
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Cong's pad scheme sparks row as Rahul's photo appears on boxes
Patna: The Congress's announcement to distribute five lakh sanitary pad boxes under its 'Priyadarshini Udaan Yojana' triggered a political storm in Bihar on Friday after images of party MP Rahul Gandhi appeared on the boxes. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The NDA criticised the move, calling it a "direct insult" to women, who have emerged as key voters in recent state elections. Bihar Congress president Rajesh Kumar, speaking in the presence of All India Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba, said the scheme was aimed at promoting menstrual hygiene awareness among rural women. "We have a special plan for the women folk in Bihar. We plan to provide free sanitary napkins to women for which we will launch an intensive campaign," Kumar told reporters here. However, controversy erupted when he held up a sanitary pad box displaying Rahul's photo alongside the INDIA bloc's proposed 'Mai-Bahin Maan Yojana', which promises Rs 2,500 monthly to women if voted to power. The ruling alliance reacted with outrage. JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar accused the Congress of degrading the dignity of women. "The Congress seems to have taken a leaf out of the book of its ally RJD, which has been known for a lumpen style of politics. Our leader Nitish Kumar has been tirelessly working for women's empowerment and the results are for all to see. But the Congress has insulted the dignity of women," he said. BJP spokesperson Kuntal Krishna echoed the sentiment. "Whatever needs to be done for women in Bihar is being done by the govt. But the Congress, which is worried about its prospects in the upcoming assembly polls, has shown its ideological bankruptcy. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Its leader Rahul Gandhi has been notorious for lacking a sense of propriety. The trait seems to have afflicted the party, in which sycophancy reigns supreme," he said. Women too expressed disapproval of the design. "This is nothing but an insult to the entire women community who will find the image of a male while using the sanitary pads. This is very bad. The Congress is stooping too low to win the support of the women voters," said Pinki Kumari of Muzaffarpur. "If the Congress thinks it will get support of the women class by distributing free napkins with the image of Rahul Gandhi, then it is sheer stupidity," she added, arguing the focus should have been on women's safety. "Rahul Gandhi is trying to emerge as a 'Pad Man' but that is not the way to launch a party campaign," said Sunita Singh of Vaishali. Defending the campaign, Lamba said, "In the modern era, the question should not be why Rahul ji's photo was put on the sanitary napkin box, the real question is why our daughters in Bihar are still forced to use cloth during menstruation and becoming victims of serious diseases?" She also criticised the BJP's response. "From a 'sindoor box' to vaccine certificates, the BJP, which prints Modi ji's photo on everything, is now troubled by Rahul ji's photo. The work that the govt should have done, we have started," Lamba said, crediting Rahul's "inspiration and visionary thinking" for making the campaign possible. (WIth PTI inputs)
NDTV
05-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"It Was Not For Party But...": Congress' Salman Khurshid On 'Patriotic' Remark
New Delhi: Days after his cryptic post asking if it is "so difficult to be patriotic" triggered speculation, Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Thursday clarified that it was not directed at his party but at people who do not consider themselves patriotic. Mr Khurshid, a former external affairs minister who was part of a delegation led by JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha which travelled to Malaysia after visiting Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore to convey India's stand on terrorism emanating from Pakistan, said a patriot will speak the language "we spoke abroad". "Ask them who are not patriots. A patriot will speak the language we spoke abroad. That language was spoken by people of the BJP, by the people of CPI(M), JD(U) and all the people who were there (as part of the delegation)," he told PTI Videos. Asked if his cryptic post was directed at his party, Mr Khurshid said, "My party sent me... why will I tweet about my party, my party sent me. My tweet was for people who do not consider themselves patriotic." Earlier this week, Mr Khurshid, in a post on X and without naming anyone, said, "When on mission against terrorism, to carry India's message to the world, it's distressing that people at home are calculating political allegiances. Is it so difficult to be patriotic?" In his remarks to PTI Videos on Thursday, Khurshid said, "The aim of our visit was largely fulfilled. Our visit will have an impact in the coming times. The response everywhere was affirmative. But there are some situations in which the response cannot be taken very seriously. For example, there was a response from diaspora on why did we leave the (Indo-Pak) war. We cannot elaborate upon the fact that what was the mission of the government, army in the war was met, and continuing the war would have cause damages. All these things cannot be explained." "We, however, said we will put forth their point of view in front of the government. But today we want to talk about how to take every nation with us in our fight against terrorism. Because if the terrorism stops, every nation, including India, will be successful," he said. Mr Khurshid said he will meet the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to brief him about the delegation's visit. "But I kept sending detailed notes to the Congress president and Rahul ji from every place, every country about what we have said and what response we have received and what to do next. The party is fully briefed," he said. Asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks recently,Mr Khurshid said, "I agree with Rahul Gandhi, he is my leader. Rahul ji has the right to ask questions. He is the leader of the opposition and in a democracy the leader of the opposition has to ask questions." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
