A heated exchange erupted online on Tuesday as the Congress and BJP engaged in a poster face-off, accusing each other’s top leaders of having ties to Pakistani figures.
The clash began when BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya shared a digital poster comparing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Pakistan’s Army chief Asim Munir, captioned “One Agenda.” In his post, Malviya questioned whether Rahul's next recognition would be the “Nishan-e-Pakistan,” Pakistan's highest civilian award.
Malviya went on to claim that Rahul Gandhi echoed Pakistan’s rhetoric by questioning India’s military actions instead of supporting them. “He has yet to acknowledge the success of Operation Sindoor, a clear demonstration of India's strategic strength. Rather than commending our forces, he fixates on how many jets we lost—something already clarified in the DGMO’s statements,” Malviya wrote. He further pointed out that Rahul hasn’t asked how many Pakistani aircraft were destroyed in the strikes.
Responding in kind, the Bihar unit of the Congress released its own poster juxtaposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi with former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif. The image carried the word “Biryani” and was captioned: “Ek biryani desh par bhari” (One biryani cost the nation dearly), alluding to past informal meetings between the two leaders.
The digital showdown reflects the ongoing political friction over Operation Sindoor and the ceasefire that followed. Rahul Gandhi has consistently criticized the government's handling of the situation, accusing it of prior communication with Pakistan before the military action. He has called this alleged pre-disclosure a “betrayal,” referencing comments by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
Operation Sindoor had triggered a brief but intense exchange between Indian and Pakistani forces, after which both sides halted fire following four days of escalation. U.S. President Donald Trump had declared the ceasefire publicly, stating that Washington had facilitated the peace deal—an assertion that has since drawn political scrutiny in India.