Rahul Gandhi’s photo on sanitary pads distributed in Bihar? Congress files FIR over ‘fake’ video

by Oishani Bhattacharya

Days after the Bihar state unit of Congress launched a campaign to distribute around 5 Lakh sanitary napkins to women in the state, a video showing a pack of napkins with images of Rahul Gandhi printed on its outer cover as well as on the pads went viral on social media.

On X, the official handle of BJP Goa shared the clip and claimed that in its desperation ahead of the Bihar elections, Congress had attached Gandhi’s image “at unwanted locations”. (Archive)

X user Raushan Sinha (@MrSinha_), who amplifies pro-BJP propaganda and misinformation on a regular basis,  on July 5 shared a video where a man wearing a saree shows a sanitary napkin with Rahul Gandhi’s image on it. Sinha identified the person who appeared in the video as @RatanRanjan_, and praised his ‘creativity’. (Archive)

Another pro-BJP X user, Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree), had also posted the viral video on X on July 5 with the caption: “Their hereditary habit of sucking blood”. Bagree later deleted his post.

Several other social media users have shared these videos with similar claims.

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Ratan Ranjan, who had originally shared the videos, has since deleted them. We noted that on his X bio, he described himself as a comedian. (Archive 1, 2)

‘Fake’, Says Congress, Files FIR

Upon running a relevant keyword search, we found several news reports related to the viral clip. According to a report by the Times of India from July 6, Congress had filed an FIR regarding the circulation of the video with Rahul Gandhi’s image on the sanitary pad, and had called it fake.

The report, however, mentions that the boxes in which the pads were distributed in Bihar did have images of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.

Supriya Shrinate, who is in charge of Congress’s social media and digital platforms, too, clarified that the video was fake. She also shared on X a copy of the FIR that the party had filed against Ratan Ranjan and Arun Kosil in Bengaluru.

Further, we came across a tweet by Pawan Khera, chief of Congress’s media and publicity department, where he posted a video comparison, showing the fake viral video and the actual pack of sanitary pads distributed by the party. The latter do not have any image on the surface of the pad.

Glaring Discrepancies & Admission of ‘Fakery’

The readers should also note that while Bihar Congress distributed pads in cardboard boxes, the viral video shows packets. If one notices carefully, it becomes apparent that the Rahul Gandhi image from the side of the boxes was cut and pasted on the orange-coloured packet of a popular brand of sanitary napkins that is available in the market. See comparison below: On the left side is a screengrab showing the packet from the viral video. On the right side is the box that was actually distributed (Photo taken from TOI report).

Also, the packet from which the pad with the Congress leader’s image is taken out in the viral video is not sealed, hence, it can be surmised that the content of the packet was possibly tampered with before the video was made.

We also found an interview of Ratan Ranjan on a YouTube channel named A2Z News TV, where he admits that the video he made was ‘fake’. At the 00.15-minute mark in the video the interviewer tells him that the video he made was ‘fake’. To this, Ranjan replies, “When did I claim it was factual!”.

Later in the interview, the anchor shows how a photo cut out of the Rahul Gandhi had been placed on a sanitary napkin so that the viral video could be made.

To sum up, sanitary napkins distributed by Bihar Congress to women in the state did not have Rahul Gandhi’s photo on them. The boxes, in which they were distributed, did, however, have Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi’s photos. The viral video does not show the actual box or the actual sanitary pads that were distributed.

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