VT Balram to step down as Kerala head of Congress digital media wing after ‘Bihar-bidi controversy’

After the party’s media wing sparked a huge controversy and faced severe criticism over a post on X that allegedly insulted Bihar while commenting on reduced GST rates for bidis, Congress leader VT Balram on Saturday said that he will step down as head of the party’s digital media wing in Kerala. He has informed KPCC president Sunny Joseph of his decision.

In a now-deleted post on X, the Congress Kerala unit said, “Bidis and Bihar start with B” and “cannot be considered a sin anymore”, referring to the GST cut on the tobacco product. The ‘X’ post from the Kerala Congress targeted the recent GST reforms brought in by the Union government, where the tax rates on cigars, cigarettes, and tobacco were increased to 40 per cent. In contrast, the rates on Bidis were brought down from 28 to 18 per cent.

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Meanwhile, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has decided to revamp its digital media cell (INC@Kerala) after its controversial post on “Bidis and Bihar” drew sharp criticism from the BJP and even allies in the INDIA bloc, especially from the RJD.

KPCC president Sunny Joseph on Saturday said that the INC@Kerala handle had not exercised due caution or political prudence while attempting to comment satirically on the central government’s decision to take bidis off the list of “sin goods”, which attract the highest slab of taxes, ahead of the Assembly elections in the largely rural state of Bihar.

“The post has been deleted. The responsible persons — admin of the social media handle and the person who operates it — withdrew it and tendered an apology. The Congress does not endorse that,” Sunny Joseph said.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary called it an “insult to the entire Bihar”. “First, the insult to the revered mother of our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and now the insult to the entire Bihar — this is the true character of the Congress, which is repeatedly being exposed before the country,” he wrote on X.