“Bihar and Bidis:” Controversy Hits Kerala Congress, Social Media Cell to be Reconstituted

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Sept 6: After an attempt by the Kerala unit of the Congress to criticise the Centre’s move to reduce the GST on “beedis” while hiking the tax rates on cigarettes linking the decision with the coming elections to the Bihar state Assembly, boomeranged on the party, its social media chief resigned from the post on Saturday facilitating the party’s move to reconstitute the cell.

The Kerala Congress also admitted to an error in judgment after the controversial social media post attempting to link Bihar with “bidis” sparked a huge political storm. The party has since deleted the post and issued a public apology. Reports said that Kerala party unit’s social media head, VT Balram, resigned amid the controversy over the post. KPCC president Sunny Joseph acknowledged that there was a “mistake” and “lack of caution” when posting the “bidis and Bihar” jibe on the party’s state unit’s social media handle.

The Congress’ Kerala unit’s social media head VT Balram, a two-time legislator from Kerala’s Thrithala constituency and until now the head of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) social media and digital cell, stepped down from his role.

The post, since deleted, on the Congress Kerala unit’s X handle had said, “Bidis and Bihar start with B. Cannot be considered a sin anymore.” Accompanying the message was a graphic comparing the existing and proposed GST rates, showing taxes on bidis reduced from 28% to 18%, while taxes on cigarettes increased from 28% to 40%. was widely interpreted as derogatory towards Bihar and its people. Bihar is among the country’s leading centres of bidi production, and the industry employs an estimated 70 lakh workers nationwide.

After outrage, the KPCC deleted the message and issued an apology. “We see that our jibe at Modi’s election gimmick with GST rates is being twisted. Our apologies if you felt hurt,” the new post said. While it was aimed at criticising the Centre’s GST policy on tobacco products, its language, linking Bihar with bidis, has been termed offensive and unacceptable by several political leaders, including those from Congress and its allies. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, a key Congress ally and Leader of the Opposition in Bihar, called for an apology.

On Saturday, Mr Sunny Joseph also condemned the post and suggested that action was being taken. “The post has been withdrawn. It was wrong to make such a post. The admin of the handle has expressed regret, and Congress will never endorse it. We have decided to reconstitute the social media cell of the party in Kerala. Its current in-charge, V T Balram, has expressed his intention to step down. He was not privy to the controversial post. There was a lapse on the part of those who handled social media,” Joseph said.

The issue has snowballed ahead of the Assembly elections set to take place in Bihar this year.

Condemning the post, the RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav said Friday, “I haven’t seen the post, but if such a statement was made, it is extremely unfortunate and an apology must be issued. No one should make such remarks.” Speaking to the media later, he said whatever the intention behind the post may be, it was wrong. “We do not support it,” he said.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain also criticised the post, saying, “No state or residents of any state should be compared to such things. I have not seen the tweet or the context in which it was posted, but if it was done, we will ask them to retract it. We will not tolerate this for the people of any state.”

It also provided fresh ammunition to the NDA to attack the Congress – RJD “Mahagathbandhan” in Bihar. Within hours of the post appearing, criticism mounted from across the political spectrum. Leaders of the ruling NDA in Bihar accused the Congress of insulting the state, while allies of the Congress in the RJD scrambled to distance themselves from the remarks. Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader and Union Minister Chirag Paswan called the comparison “deeply insulting to Bihar and crores of Biharis.”

Leaders of Bihar’s ruling alliance hit out at the Congress over the post. The Bihar deputy chief minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary called the post an “insult to the entire Bihar.” “First, the insult to the revered mother of our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and now the insult to the entire Bihar— this is the true character of the Congress, which is repeatedly being exposed before the country,” Mr Choudhary posted on X.

Sanjay Kumar Jha, a member of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United (JDU), also slammed the Congress, calling it “another extremely shameful act” by the Opposition party. BJP’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla sharply reacted to the post and said the “Congress crosses the line again.” “Congress crosses the line again. After abusing PM @narendramodi ji mother now compares Bihar with Bidi ! Does Tejaswi Yadav endorse this? From Revanth Reddy to DMK to Congress- their hatred for Bihar is evident,” Shehzad Poonawalla wrote.

The controversial post had come shortly after the GST Council announced major reforms, including a simplification of the tax structure and changes to tobacco-related products. While cigarettes will continue to attract higher levies, bidis were brought down to 18 per cent, with tendu leaves – the wrappers used in bidi-making – taxed at just 5 per cent.