Bihar Congress Distributing Sanitary Pads With Rahul Gandhi’s Photo Under ‘Maai‑Behen’ Maan Yojana, Says BJP Leader

Patna: The Indian National Congress has launched a new initiative titled Priyadarshini Udaan Yojana as part of its broader ‘Maai-Bahen Maan Yojana’, aimed at empowering women across Bihar. The scheme seeks to promote economic self-reliance among women through targeted outreach and support.

As part of the initiative, Congress has rolled out a sanitary pad distribution campaign, under which it plans to distribute 5 lakh sanitary pads free of cost to women across the state. The move is seen as an effort to strengthen the party’s connection with women voters ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

However, the campaign quickly sparked controversy after it was revealed that the packaging featured a photo of Rahul Gandhi. Critics, especially from the NDA, accused Congress of turning a welfare initiative into a political gimmick.

“To promote 'Maai-Bahen Yojna', Mahila Congress is planning to distribute 5 lakh sanitary pads for free in Bihar. Okay, good but ideally the sanitary pad packet should have been without Rahul Gandhi's face,” said a BJP leader.

"This is wrong. To what extent are you willing to go for campaigning? It's a good thing that you're distributing sanitary pads, but putting Rahul Gandhi's photo on them looks awkward and inappropriate" said LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan, reacting to the controversy.

RP Singh, BJP National Spokesperson, echoed the criticism, stating, “This won’t help Congress.”

The criticism wasn’t limited to political circles. Several users on X also expressed thier discomfort.

One user wrote, "Who in God’s name is the marketing agency for Congress for Bihar elections? Distributing sanitary pads to women with Rahul Gandhi’s picture on the pack!"

Another commented, "Congress stoops to new lows in Bihar – distributing sanitary pads with Rahul Gandhi’s face on the packets!"

The Congress party has yet to formally respond to the criticism. Party insiders, however, insist that the campaign's focus remains on women’s health and dignity, rather than image-building.

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