The Congress party has found itself at the center of a fierce political controversy after it shared a provocative poster on social media, appearing to take a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s absence from an all-party meeting convened in the aftermath of the recent Pahalgam terror attack. The move has drawn sharp criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which accused the Congress of stoking extremist sentiments and aligning itself with narratives emanating from Pakistan.
On Monday, 28 April 2025, the official Congress X handle posted an image featuring Prime Minister Modi’s body with the head edited out and the word “Gayab“ (missing) emblazoned across it. Though the post did not explicitly name the Prime Minister, his clothes gave away their intent. The caption accompanying the image read: “Disappears at the time of responsibility”. The post was a veiled reference to PM Modi’s ‘absence’ from the all-party meeting held to discuss the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam region.
Congress flaunts a headless kurta to echo the extremist 'Sar Tan Se Juda' slogan, exposing its continuous slide into Muslim League 2.0 — divisive, desperate, and directionless.
Now that PM Shri @narendramodi has spoken the only language Pakistan understands, Islamabad’s official… https://t.co/hU5bhiPaf8
— BJP (@BJP4India) April 29, 2025
Congress leaders, including Jairam Ramesh, have criticized the Prime Minister for skipping the meeting, insisting that a leader of his stature should have been present to brief the nation and Parliament. Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge have since written to the PM, demanding a special session of Parliament to discuss the terror attack.
The controversy escalated further when the same image was picked up and shared by former Pakistani Minister Fawad Hussain Chaudhry. He mocked the Indian Prime Minister, posting: “Had heard about missing horns from donkey’s head, but here Modi has gone missing.” This endorsement from a Pakistani political figure ignited outrage in Indian political circles, particularly among BJP leaders.
Reacting strongly, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia held a press conference where he displayed the Congress poster and lashed out at the opposition party. “There is a national political party that stays among us, but if we call them Lashkar-e-Pakistan Congress, it won’t be wrong,” he said. He accused the Congress of operating on the instructions of Rahul Gandhi and alleged that such posts serve to weaken India during moments of national crisis.
He went further, drawing a direct connection between the Congress poster and extremist Islamist slogans. “‘Sar tan se juda’ has become the ideology of Lashkar-e-Pakistan Congress today,” Bhatia alleged — a reference to the notorious beheading chant used by radical Islamist mobs.
Amid the uproar, the Congress attempted to distance itself from the controversy. Senior leader Jairam Ramesh clarified that there was “no political agenda” behind the poster and reiterated the party’s call for unity in responding to terrorism. He defended the criticism of the Prime Minister’s absence from the all-party meeting, emphasizing that the Congress simply wanted accountability and transparency from the government.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
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