Kerala Congress to revamp digital cell after ‘Bidis and Bihar’ row

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) is looking to revamp its social media wing after being embroiled in a controversy for a now-deleted social media post, which allegedly insulted people from Bihar.

KPCC chief Sunny Joseph said that the state’s digital cell chief, V T Balram, has expressed his willingness to step down from his position, saying that the controversial ‘bidis and Bihar’ post was made without his knowledge.

“As soon as we noticed it, we withdrew the post and expressed regret over it. V T Balram, who was in charge of the social media wing, said that the post was made without his knowledge. He has expressed a desire to step down from the post. We have also decided to reorganise the social media wing”, the KPCC president said, while expressing regret over the social media post.

However, Joseph said that Balram has not yet stepped down, and the party has not removed him from his position to this date.

In a now-deleted tweet, Jaise-e-Congress compared the people of Bihar to bidis.

Bihar, the land of Buddha, Mahaveer, and Shri Babu Jagjivan Ram. And just because the people of Bihar have rejected Congress time and again, you insult them?

This isn’t politics. This is pure… pic.twitter.com/JXmIVS6H7G

— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) September 5, 2025

In a now deleted ‘X’ post by Kerala Congress, the party had criticised the recently passed Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform, as they highlighted 40 per cent GST rate on ‘sinful’ products like cigars and cigarettes, while bidis have an 18 per cent rate. “Bidis and Bihar start with B. Cannot be considered a sin anymore”, the Kerala Congress said in a now-deleted post.

The post had received condemnation from various other political leaders, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, calling it a “shameful” and “unfortunate insult” to the people.

The 56th GST council meeting decided to rationalise GST rates to two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent by merging the 12 per cent and 28 per cent rates. While the 5 per cent slab consists of essential goods, the 18 per cent slab consists of the rest of the goods and services, including automobiles, electronic items, household goods, professional services and more.

Additionally, there is also a 40 pc slab for luxury and sin goods, including tobacco and pan Masala, products like cigarettes, and aerated sugary beverages and on luxury vehicles, high-end motorcycles above 350cc, yachts, and helicopters. Moreover, some essential services and educational items are fully exempted from GST, including individual health, family floater and life insurance. (ANI)