Congress-BJP poster war intensifies over Rahul Gandhi's 'panauti' remark

Rahul Gandhi (left) and Narendra Modi (right)/ PTI

A poster war between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has resulted from the backlash against Rahul Gandhi's 'panauti' remark, which was aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP responded to the Congress's portrayal of the PM as "Panauti-e-Azam" on social media by emphasising the Gandhi family as the "true panauti" of the nation. This poster battle took place on these platforms, stated a PTI report.

Rahul Gandhi's comment about PM Modi caused the term "panauti," a Hindi slang term that roughly translates to "someone who brings bad luck," to become controversial, the report added.

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The Election Commission (EC) stepped in and gave Rahul Gandhi a show-cause notice, requesting a response by Saturday regarding his use of the terms "panauti," "pickpocket," and "loan waiver for the super-rich" in reference to the Prime Minister.

Rahul Gandhi's remarks, according to the BJP's complaint submitted to the EC, were unsuitable for a senior leader. The Congress retaliated by releasing a poster that featured Modi hidden behind a curtain and read "PANAUTI-E-AZAM."

In retaliation, the BJP unveiled a new poster with the names of the Gandhi family - Priyanka, Rahul, Sonia, Rajiv, Nehru, Robert, and Indira - highlighting the initials of these names to form the word "PANAUTI" and claiming to be the nation's true "panautis."

Using the acronym 'PANAUTI,' the BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla used a poster to draw attention to a number of issues during this poster skirmish. These issues included the Gandhi family's role in dynastic politics, terrorism, nepotism, corruption, economic performance, appeasement, and disregarding the interests of the country for the sake of vote bank politics.

In a post on X tagging the poster, the BJP leader said, "Bharat ki asli PANAUTI -- P-Parivarvaad (dynastic politics), A- Aatankwaad (terrorism), N- Nepotism, A- Absolute corruption, U- Underperforming economy, T- Tushtikaran (appeasement), I - Ignoring National int for vote bank."

This exchange was sparked by Rahul Gandhi calling Prime Minister Modi "Panauti Modi" during a Cricket World Cup match. Gandhi's statements drew criticism from the BJP, which called for an apology for what they called "shameful and disgraceful" remarks. "PM means Panauti Modi," Rahul Gandhi had said.