"Wrong, Don't Support": Tejashwi Yadav On 'Bidis, Bihar start with B' Row

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has distanced his party from a viral post by the Congress's Kerala unit, saying both "Bihar and Bidi start with B". With the BJP targeting the RJD-Congress Mahagathbandhan and accusing it of insulting Bihar and Biharis, Mr Yadav said the now-deleted tweet was "wrong" and that his party does not support it.

In a tweet posted last 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, which employs over 70 lakh people in the country, had pushed for a GST cut.

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.

When NDTV reached out to senior Congress leader Raashid Alvi, he defended the Kerala Congress's post. "The BJP has reduced taxes only because of the upcoming Bihar (assembly) elections," he said, calling the move "very unfortunate".

Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary said the Congress's post was an "insult" to Bihar. "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," Mr Poonawalla said.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said the post shows Congress's "negative thinking". "The frustration that they're losing public support, the frustration that the Gandhi family is no more liked by the people of India is reflecting 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.

The 'Bihar and Bidi start with B' row has provided fresh ammunition to the BJP when it is already attacking the RJD and Congress after abusive words were used for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dead mother from an Opposition campaign stage. The Congress and RJD have stressed that none of their leaders used the abusive words, but the BJP has built a massive campaign around it, especially after Prime Minister Modi's emotional speech.