‘Cheap Tactic’: BJP Tears Into Cong Over AI Video Showing PM Modi As ‘Chai Wala’ At Global Event

New Delhi: A political row erupted on Wednesday after Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak posted an AI-generated video depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi selling tea at an international red-carpet event, prompting an angry backlash from the BJP that accused the Opposition party of repeatedly “abusing” the PM and demeaning the people’s mandate.

The video, shared on X by Nayak, used artificial intelligence to portray the Prime Minister in his early-life avatar as a “chai wala”. The clip shows PM Modi holding a kettle in one hand and glasses in the other while walking along a red-carpeted summit venue, calling out, “Chai ye… chai bolo chai ye.”

‘Naamdar Congress Cannot Stand A Kamdar PM’

The BJP reacted sharply, terming the video a new low in political discourse. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla condemned the Congress, saying the party had once again targeted the Prime Minister’s humble origins.

“Yes, the Prime Minister sold tea, but he never sold the country. Yes, he is not a naamdar, he is a kamdar,” Poonawalla said, attacking the Congress leadership for what he called an elitist disdain for PM Modi’s background.

Calling the video a “cheap tactic”, Poonawalla said the Congress had insulted not just the Prime Minister but the dignity of ordinary working-class Indians.

“This is an insult to the people’s mandate and people’s wisdom. With this video, the Congress has not just insulted the Prime Minister but has indulged in garibon ka apmaan, chaiwalon ka apmaan and even samvidhan ka apmaan,” he said.

He also alleged that “the Congress did not even spare his mother”, referring to a previous AI-generated clip, and accused the party of normalising personal attacks through fabricated digital content.

In September, the Bihar Congress had posted an AI-powered video online showing the Prime Minister dreaming his mother was rebuking him over his politics. The BJP had then called it an insult not just to the Prime Minister's late mother, but to all women and the poor. Heeraben Modi had died in December 2022 at the age of 99.

Sharing a screenshot of Nayak’s Wednesday’s post on X, Poonawalla said, “After Renuka Choudhary insults Parliament & Sena now Ragini Nayak attacks and mocks PM Modi’s Chaiwala background. Naamdar Congress cannot stand a Kamdar PM from OBC community who has come from a poor background. They mocked his Chaiwala background earlier too. They abused him 150 times. They abused his mother in Bihar. People will never forgive them.”

The controversial AI video has once again brought the ethics of political communication in the age of deepfakes into sharp focus. While the Congress has used the clip to mock the BJP’s projection of Modi as a self-made leader, the ruling party has framed it as a deliberate attempt to demean an entire socioeconomic class.

The controversy comes at a time when both parties are intensifying their digital campaigns and the use of AI-generated content, both as satire and political ammunition, has emerged as a sharp new battleground.

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