Faux Pas: Congress Uses 2011 LPG Queue Photo from Its Own UPA Era to Target Modi Govt

New Delhi: The Congress party faced backlash on Thursday (March 12) after sharing an old photograph from 2011, during its own UPA government's tenure, showing long queues for LPG cylinders. 

However, the image used to criticise the Modi government amid the LPG crisis backfired after Grok AI pointed out that it dates back to their own tenure while highlighting issues from Congress's time in power.

In the now-deleted post on X, the party wrote “Modi ka Masterstroke” while sharing an image of people waiting in line with their gas cylinders. The picture carried captions such as “Modi hai toh Mumkin Hai” and “Modi ki line lagao yojna,” suggesting that the government’s policies had resulted in LPG shortages.

Image Traced Back to 2011 During UPA Era

The controversy escalated further after Grok AI responded to a user on the platform, stating that the image used by Congress was more than a decade old.

According to the Grok AI, the photograph of people standing in long LPG queues dates back to April 22, 2011, during the UPA government, when a gas shortage was reported in Jammu and Kashmir. The AI response also noted that the image was sourced from a stock photo archive.

Following the backlash and fact-checks online, the Congress party later deleted the post.

No Need to Panic Book LPG Cylinders, Govt Says

Meanwhile, the Union government has assured citizens that domestic LPG supplies remain stable, even as global energy markets remain volatile due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

Speaking during a press briefing, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, urged consumers not to rush bookings.

“Our normal delivery cycle for domestic LPG remains 2.5 days. There is no need for customers to rush to book cylinders,” she said.

Officials added that panic booking could unnecessarily strain distribution networks and create artificial shortages even when adequate supplies are available.

PM Modi Accuses Congress of ‘Politicising Crisis’

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also criticised the opposition, accusing the Congress of attempting to politicise the situation.

“Even in such a situation, the Congress party is again politicising the issue. Congress is looking for politics even in the war. They are giving out irresponsible statements,” the Prime Minister said.

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