The controversy erupted after a Congress leader shared an AI-generated video showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi selling tea at what appeared to be a red carpet event. The BJP immediately condemned the video and accused the Congress of mistreating the chief minister.
The video was posted on X by Congress leader Ragini Nayak with the caption, “Now, who did this?”
The video shows the prime minister, wearing a light blue coat and black trousers, holding a kettle and a tea glass at a red carpet event, with the international flag and tricolor flying in the background.
A voice imitating Prime Minister Modi was heard. “Chaibolo, chaie (Everyone wants tea).
The prime minister often refers to his humble background as a tea vendor at a railway station in Gujarat and accuses the opposition of making fun of it.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla slammed the Congress and said, “After Renuka Chaudhary insulted the Congress and Congress, now Ragini Nayak is attacking and ridiculing PM Modi’s remarks.”chaiwalla‘Background. “
“The elite Congress cannot accept a hard-working prime minister who comes from a poor background from the OBC community. They are making fun of his statements.”chaiwallahad earlier roots and abused him over 150 times and even targeted his mother in Bihar. The people will never forgive them,” he added.
Poonawalla’s reference to the attack on the chief minister’s mother is in connection with another AI-generated video posted by the Bihar Congress unit in September.
On September 10, a 36-second video titled “AI-generated” showed the prime minister dreaming of his late mother criticizing him over politics in the state, which went to polls last month.
The video sparked widespread controversy and the Patna High Court directed the Parliament to remove the video from all social media platforms.
history of failure
Nayak’s post shows the party’s refusal to learn from its past mistakes. The Congress leader’s ‘chaiwala’ or tea-seller tirade against Narendra Modi began in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and has recurred as a political metaphor that the Bharatiya Janata Party has repeatedly exploited for its own benefit.
Aiyar’s 2014 Gaffe
At an AICC meeting in January 2014, senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said that Mr. Modi would “never” become prime minister and sarcastically suggested that tea could be served and distributed in the parliamentary halls, a move widely portrayed as making fun of Mr. Modi’s past as a tea seller. The comment quickly drew criticism, with Rahul Gandhi publicly denying it, but the Bharatiya Janata Party branded it an insult to Prime Minister Modi’s humble origins and to ordinary Indians.
In a later book, Mr. Aiyar claimed that he had never literally called Mr. Modi a “chaiwala”, but acknowledged that the cynical suggestion that Mr. Modi could serve tea even after losing the election became a major political liability for the Congress.
From Jive to Asset
BJP strategists quickly turned the remarks into a nationwide “Chai Pe Charcha” campaign, with Modi interacting with voters via video link from hundreds of tea stalls. The campaign explicitly cited his tea-seller background, presented him as a leader rooted in common life, and turned Congress’s excitement into a narrative asset.
youth conference meme
In November 2017, the Indian Youth Congress’ online handle shared a meme depicting Mr. Modi as a chaiwala, sparking another backlash, forcing the Congress to distance itself and delete the post.
Mr. Modi has repeatedly said in interviews and rallies that he did not come forward with his “chaiwala” past until Congress leaders mocked him, insisting that such a profession was undignified. In a subsequent speech, Mr. Modi explained how the Congress incident had led to Gujarat deriding him as a chaiwala, and claimed that voters had punished the party for its supposed arrogance.
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