The Bihar Congress posted a controversial AI-generated video showing a fictional conversation between PM Narendra Modi and his late mother, Heeraben Modi.
BJP leaders strongly condemned the video whereas Congress defended the video as political satire with no intent to offend.
A BJP worker filed a complaint alleging violation of the IT Act (2000) and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (2023) due to the use of deepfake technology.
The Bihar Congress has landed itself in trouble with Bihar election ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections after posting a deeply unsettling AI-generated video. A fictional conversation is shown between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother, Heeraben Modi in the video captioned as “Maa appears in Saheb’s Dreams”. Heeraben is seen criticizing her son over his political activities and the accusations regarding ‘vote chori’. The video posted on 10th September, 2025 on X quickly went viral, sparking outrage rather than admiration.
One of the first to react to the video was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Union Minister Piyush Goyal was furious, calling out the video as “a new low in political discourse” and condemned the Congress for setting “new records of depravity”. Rahul Gandhi was deemed responsible personally for the video that intended to insult PM Modi’s late mother, according to BJP's IT Cell head, Amit Malviya.
Many others started criticizing the video with Union Minister Giriraj Singh labelling it as “disgusting” and BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala denouncing it as “shameful”. Even Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called it out to be “nindaniy” (condemnable), warning Congress to teach a lesson at the voting booth. The video even faced backlashes from the actress and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut for being "insensitive". She further added that it was “the most horrible and insensitive thing anyone can do” by using AI to depict a deceased parent in such a manner.
Congress leaders were quick to defend their actions in the face of growing pressure. Spokesperson Pooja Tripathy challenged the charges, posing the question, “What is disrespectful in the video?”. She claimed the video to be a political satire, questioning governance problems rather than being a personal attack. She maintained that there was no word or gesture that was offensive in the video. There were even attempts to minimize the damage by referring to the video as “satirical commentary” with no intention of offending anyone.
The situation quickly turned into a legal battle when a BJP worker from Delhi lodged the complaint stating that the video violated the Information Technology Act of 2000 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita of 2023, that deals with cybercrimes and the use of deepfake content. Authorities have reportedly started looking into the matter.
Experts are raising serious ethical concerns that go beyond the political drama. The line between fact and fiction seems to be getting blurred with the advancement of deepfake technology. Such contents are feared to mislead voters, erode public trust and distort political discourse.
The controversy is all set to dominate the political discourse as the Bihar Assembly election draws near. This whole thing leaves us with questions hanging as to how to differentiate between political satire and disrespect; and the responsible use of powerful new technologies by political parties. Despite offering incredible potential, there is no use denying the fact that AI possesses significant risks which in turn can shape the results of elections in this digital era.
Also Read: