Historically, the BJP has effectively leveraged emotionally charged attacks by Congress on PM Modi to its political advantage, benefitting politically whenever the grand old party overstepped into personal attacks, will it help this time, remains to be seen
A major political row broke out Friday after the Bihar Congress posted an AI-generated video showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s late mother Heeraben Modi with the BJP calling it “shameful” and “disgusting” and accusing the rival party of crossing moral lines and exploiting the memory of a deceased woman for political gain.
The video, shared on Congress’s official X handle, digitally recreated Heeraben Modi chastising her son during a dream sequence in the context of earlier controversy regarding her in the ongoing Bihar election campaign. Slamming the video, party leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain called it “shameful and disgraceful”. “She is no longer alive. Putting words in the mouth of a departed mother is inhumane,” he said, referring to Heeraben, who passed away in 2022 at age 99. Party colleague Shehzad Poonawalla termed it “an insult to all mothers and to ‘maatru shakti’,” while Anurag Thakur accused the Congress and ally RJD of “hitting a new low. Mocking a mother, especially one no longer alive, from the land of Bihar, is unacceptable.”
Congress dismissed the outrage, insisting there was nothing offensive about the video. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera argued, “It is a parent giving advice to a child. If that makes the child uncomfortable, that’s his problem.” He also accused the BJP of trying to milk the issue for political sympathy. “PM Modi can’t shield himself from criticism under the garb of personal attacks. This was not satire — it was advice.”
The controversy adds heat to an already volatile Bihar poll season. Congress has alleged BJP and Election Commission bias in voter list revisions, calling it “manipulation”. The BJP, in turn, says voters will see through Congress’s “desperation tactics”.
The AI video follows an earlier controversy where abusive remarks were allegedly made against PM Modi’s mother during a Congress-RJD event in Darbhanga . “They have not just insulted my mother — they’ve insulted every mother and sister in the country,” PM Modi said
Will this controversy help, and who?
Political analysts say such emotionally charged controversies can cut both ways. For the BJP, the AI video controversy fits a familiar pattern — using perceived personal attacks to rally its base and portray PM Modi as a victim of elitist disdain, a strategy that has worked in the past.
In 2017, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s “neech aadmi” comment was turned by the BJP into a classist insult, helping Modi connect with lower-income and backward-caste voters. Similarly, in 2019, Rahul Gandhi’s “Chowkidar chor hai” slogan was flipped into the successful “Main Bhi Chowkidar” campaign, portraying Modi as a humble guardian of the people.
Thus, the AI video does offer the BJP another emotional flashpoint to energize its support, especially in a closely contested state like Bihar. For Congress, the risk lies in appearing insensitive, particularly to conservative rural voters who deeply value familial respect and cultural norms. While such issues dominate headlines temporarily, their electoral impact depends on narrative control and in this area, the BJP has a historical edge.
