BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Friday levelled sharp allegations against the Congress, claiming that the party had used Bihar election funds to organise what he described as ‘desh virodhi’ “shirtless shameless protests”.
In a post on social media platform X, Poonawalla wrote, “Cat is out of the bag. Congress used election funds for sesh virodhi shirtless shameless protests? So it was a deep conspiracy! ECI should also take note.”
The remarks suggest that the BJP leader is questioning the source of funding behind certain protests, alleging misuse of funds meant for electoral purposes.
Cat is out of the bag
Congress used election funds for sesh virodhi shirtless shameless protests?
So it was a deep conspiracy!
ECI should also take note @AnvitSrivastava great story https://t.co/ht6c2jEti8 pic.twitter.com/BDI5mZNsfT
— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) February 27, 2026
It may be noted that election funds or electoral donations received by a political party are primarily meant to be used by the party for election campaigning as well as electoral outreach to the voters.
Call for Election Commission intervention
By tagging the Election Commission of India (ECI) in his message, Poonawalla sought regulatory scrutiny into the matter. The ECI has not issued any response so far.
The latest exchange adds to the ongoing political sparring between the BJP and the Congress, with funding transparency and protest politics emerging as fresh flashpoints.
Court remands Youth Congress workers
On Thursday, the Patiala House Court sent five accused – Arbaaz, Siddharth, Saurabh, Ajay and Raja Gurjar – to three days’ police custody. They are to be produced before the court again on March 1.
Saurabh, Arbaaz and Siddharth were brought to Delhi after being arrested in Himachal Pradesh. Ajay and Raja Gurjar were already in custody in connection with the case.
The arrests had triggered a 24-hour standoff between the Delhi Police and the Himachal Pradesh Police.
Earlier, on February 21, four Youth Congress members were remanded to five days’ police custody. On February 24, Indian Youth Congress National President Uday Bhanu Chib was sent to four days’ police custody after his arrest in the case.
Police have claimed that Chib did not cooperate during questioning and did not disclose details about the source of the T-shirts used during the protest or about absconding co-accused.
The protest has since snowballed into a political flashpoint. The BJP has termed the disruption an attempt to damage India’s global image during an international summit. The Congress, on its part, has maintained that it was a peaceful protest meant to raise concerns of the youth.