NEW DELHI: An AI-generated video posted by Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “chaiwala” (tea seller) sparked a furious response from the ruling BJP. The clip shows PM Modi selling tea at an international summit, holding a kettle in one hand and glasses in the other, while saying, “Chai ye… chai bolo chai ye.”This was a reference to the prime minister’s oft-repeated account of selling tea in his hometown of Vadnagar in Gujarat while growing up — a version that critics, including several Congress leaders, have long disputed.Reacting to the video, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla — a former Congress leader — accused the grand old party of being unable to accept a “kaamdar” prime minister from a backward community.“After Renuka Chowdhury insulted Parliament, now Ragini Nayak attacks and mocks PM Modi’s ‘chaiwala’ background. Naamdar Congress cannot stand a kamdar PM from the OBC community who has risen from a poor background. They mocked his chaiwala past earlier too, abused him 150 times, and even targeted his mother in Bihar. People will never forgive them,” Poonawalla wrote on X.The BJP frequently highlights PM Modi as a “kaamdar” (workaholic) leader in contrast to the “naamdar” (elitist) Congress. The PM himself has used the term to critique Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who comes from a family of three former prime ministers.Congress veteran Mani Shankar Aiyar’s “chaiwala” jibe at the BJP’s then-PM candidate Narendra Modi in January 2014 had famously backfired, as the saffron party went on to secure a decisive victory in the general elections held in April–May that year.
