The BJP Congress AI Video Chaiwala Controversy escalates as the ruling party blasts Congress for mocking the PM’s humble origins with a deepfake video. The row highlights the political weaponization of AI Ethics and the clash between kamdar (worker) and naamdar (elite) narratives in India.
BJP Congress AI Video Chaiwala Controversy
A fiery political confrontation has erupted, fueled by the irresponsible use of technology, as the BJP launched a scathing counter-attack against the Congress party over an AI-generated video depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a demeaning avatar. The clip, posted by Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak, shows the Prime Minister walking the red carpet at an international summit while serving tea and calling out, “Chai ye chai bolo chai ye.” This deliberate mockery of the Prime Minister’s publicly acknowledged narrative of his humble origins as a ‘chaiwala’ (tea seller) has triggered a massive row, putting the ethics of digital manipulation firmly at the center of the country’s political discourse.
The ruling BJP wasted no time in condemning the video as a new low, instantly framing the debate around class politics. BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla led the charge, coining the defining phrase of the controversy: “The Naamdar Congress cannot stand a Kamdar PM.” This statement effectively contrasts the perceived entitlement and elitism of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty (Naamdar, or ‘those with a name’) against the self-made, hard-working ethos of the Prime Minister (Kamdar, or ‘worker’). Poonawalla further alleged that the attack was a calculated insult to the entire Other Backward Class (OBC) community, from which the Prime Minister hails, aiming to delegitimize his democratic rise from poverty.
