PATNA: Congress’s announcement that it will distribute 5 lakh sanitary pad containers beneath its “Priyadarshini Udaan Yojana” triggered a political storm in Bihar on Friday after pictures of social gathering MP Rahul Gandhi appeared on the containers. NDA criticised the transfer, calling it a “direct insult” to women, who’ve emerged as key voters in latest state elections.Bihar Congress president Rajesh Kumar, talking within the presence of All India Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba, mentioned the scheme was geared toward selling menstrual hygiene consciousness amongst rural women. “We have a special plan for womenfolk in Bihar. We plan to provide free sanitary napkins to women for which we will launch an intensive campaign,” Kumar informed reporters. However, controversy erupted when he held up a sanitary pad field displaying Rahul’s photo alongside the INDIA bloc’s proposed “Mai-Bahin Maan Yojana”, which guarantees Rs 2,500 month-to-month to women if voted into govt.JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar accused Congress of degrading the dignity of women. “Congress seems to have taken a leaf out of the book of its ally, RJD, which has been known for a lumpen style of politics. Our leader Nitish Kumar has been working tirelessly for women’s empowerment and the results are for all to see. But Congress has insulted the dignity of women,” he mentioned.BJP spokesperson Kuntal Krishna echoed the sentiment. “Whatever needs to be done for women in Bihar is being done by govt. But Congress, which is worried about its prospects in the upcoming assembly polls, has shown its ideological bankruptcy. Its leader, Rahul Gandhi, has been notorious for lacking a sense of propriety. The trait seems to have afflicted the party, in which sycophancy reigns supreme,” he mentioned.Women expressed disapproval of the design. “This is nothing but an insult to women who will find the image of a male while using the sanitary pads… Congress is stooping too low to win the support of women voters,” mentioned Pinki Kumari of Muzaffarpur. “If Congress thinks it will get support from women by distributing free napkins with the image of Rahul, then it is sheer stupidity,” she added, arguing the main target ought to have been on women’s security.“Rahul is trying to emerge as a ‘Pad Man’ but that is not the way to launch a party campaign,” mentioned Sunita Singh of Vaishali.Defending the marketing campaign, Lamba mentioned, “In the modern era, the question should not be why Rahul-ji’s photo was put on the sanitary napkin box, the real question is why our daughters in Bihar are still forced to use cloth during menstruation and become victims of serious diseases?”She additionally criticised BJP’s response. “From a ‘sindoor box’ to vaccine certificates, BJP, which prints Modi-ji’s photo on everything, is now troubled by Rahul-ji’s photo. The work that govt should have done, we have started,” Lamba mentioned, crediting Rahul’s “inspiration and visionary thinking” for making the marketing campaign attainable.(With PTI inputs)
