Rahul Gandhi's photo on sanitary pad: FIR filed over fake video; Congress leader says others will face action too

NEW DELHI: Congress on Sunday slammed the circulation of a fake video that allegedly misuses a photograph of Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi in a misleading context. A video, which has gone viral on social media, shows Gandhi's picture pasted on a sanitary pad, purportedly being distributed under the party's Priyadarshini Udaan Yojana in Bihar, aimed at raising menstrual hygiene awareness among women in the state.Congress leader Supriya Shrinate confirmed that an FIR has been registered regarding the video. "An FIR has been lodged against the misuse of Rahul Gandhi's image to create a fake video. Action is also being taken against others involved," Shrinate said on Sunday.Congress launches sanitary pad drive in BiharThe controversy emerged just days after Congress launched a menstrual hygiene initiative in Bihar. The party began distributing sanitary pads to women in the state, citing alarming survey data."We conducted a survey in Bihar, and shocking figures came out that in today's modern India, women and daughters of Bihar are using cloth during menstruation and are falling prey to serious diseases," All India Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba said. "Mahila Congress has taken the initiative to give free sanitary vending machines to our mothers, sisters, daughters of Bihar who are using cloth due to unemployment, inflation, poverty and are unable to buy it," she added."We installed machines, gave free training, free machines, free raw material to make 30,000 pads. And today, I am happy to say that the women of Bihar are making these pads; they are getting work and earning a living. We are going to distribute free sanitary pad boxes in the next 2 days," she said.The boxes being distributed under the initiative feature photos of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, aiming to increase awareness and visibility of the drive.