Patna; Even as Bihar gears up for what is being considered one of the most crucial elections in the state’s history, a purported video of Congress MP Tariq Anwar being carried piggyback by locals during a flood survey has gone viral on social media.
This comes days after Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi completed his ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ in the state. This outreach programme did help the Opposition parties in Bihar – primarily the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) – connect to the masses.
The video that has now emerged shows Anwar avoiding slush and floodwaters by riding on the back of a man while locals walk through the muddy area.
Netizens have reacted, with some calling this a culture of the Congress. Others have said that such ‘netas’ need to be dumped in trash bins.
This comes at a time when the BJP has taken a jibe at Gandhi for his visit to Malaysia. In a post on X, BJP leader Amit Malviya said that Rahul Gandhi is on a ‘clandestine vacation’ in ‘Lankawi’.
“Rahul Gandhi has slipped away yet again this time on a clandestine vacation in Langkawi, Malaysia. Looks like the heat and dust of Bihar’s politics was too much for the Congress Yuvraj, who had to rush off for a break. Or is it another one of those secret meetings that no one is supposed to know about?” Malviya said in his post.
“Either way, while people struggle with real issues, Rahul Gandhi is busy perfecting the art of disappearing and vacationing,” he further said.
This comes after a setback for the Congress over a post against the GST slab restructuring by the Centre that criticised the reduction of tax on ‘bidis’ while enhancing it on other tobacco-based products. ‘B for Bidi, B for Bihar’, the post on the Kerala Congress’ X handle had stated.
The post was deleted after it faced heat from all corners, including the RJD, for insulting Bihar and people of the state.
The elections in Bihar has already grabbed the nation’s attention due to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being carried out there by the Election Commision of India (ECI). The exercise has been challenged before the Supreme Court. As always, issues like unemployment, floods, caste dynamics, and governance are expected to dominate the polls in the state.