Free sanitary pad packs with Rahul Gandhi's photo sparks row; ‘this is nothing but an insult,’ say women.
As part of the forthcoming Bihar Assembly Polls 2025 campaign, Congress's announcement that it would distribute five lakh sanitary pad boxes under its "Priyadarshini Udaan Yojana" triggered a political storm in Bihar on Friday 2025-07-04 after images of party MP Rahul Gandhi appeared on the boxes.
NDA criticised the move, calling it a "direct insult" to women, who have emerged as key voters in recent state elections.
Bihar Congress president Rajesh Kumar, speaking in the presence of All India Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba, said the scheme was aimed at promoting menstrual hygiene awareness among 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 told reporters.
However, controversy erupted when he held up a sanitary pad box displaying Rahul's photo alongside the INDIA bloc's proposed "Mai-Bahin Maan Yojana", which promises Rs 2,500 monthly 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 said.
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 said.
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," said 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 focus should have been on women's safety.
"Rahul is trying to emerge as a 'Pad Man' but that is not the way to launch a party campaign," said Sunita Singh of Vaishali.
Defending the campaign, Lamba said, "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 also 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 said, crediting Rahul's "inspiration and visionary thinking" for making the campaign possible.
(With PTI inputs)
Courtesy: The Times Of India
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