Kerala Congress leader VT Balram resigns as party’s social media chief after controversial Bihar and bidi post

Kerala Congress leader and the party’s social media head VT Balram has reportedly resigned from the latter role on September 6, following furore over an alleged insulting post about Bihar, made from the official account, local publication On Manorama reported.

Balram has informed KPCC president Sunny Joseph of the same, amid heavy criticism over an X (Twitter) post that allegedly mocked Bihar after the reduced GST rates for bidis, the report added.

Criticism grows: What happened?

The quickly deleted controversial post, included a graphic that outlined the proposed GST hike on cigars, cigarettes and tobacco from 28 per cent to 40 per cent, and a reduction for bidis to 18 per cent. It also had the caption: “Bidis and Bihar begin with B. Cannot be considered a sin any more.”

‘Sin’ here is the reference to “sin goods” that are taxed along with luxury items, at the highest special slab of 40 per cent.

However, with the Bihar assembly elections likely to be held later this year, the post was not received well, and drew criticism from friends and foes alike, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and INDIA bloc parties

How has Kerala Congress responded?

As per the report, Joseph confirmed Balram’s resignation and decision to step down from all of the party’s social media responsibilities. Further, responding to the backlash, he admitted that the incident should not have happened, said the party will restructure the social media team and urged them to be more cautious in the future.

‘Decision to revamp taken earlier’ says Balram

Speaking to Manorama News, Balram however said that his move away from the social media role was planned earlier and not forced, adding, “The decision to revamp the social media team was taken much earlier and was communicated to the KPCC president when he assumed office. It has nothing to do with the controversy.”

He added that he was not removed from the post and communicated this decision to the party leadership himself. He also however admitted that the post could have been avoided and said he was unaware at the time it was published.

On why the move away from social media, Balram said he was short of time to review and correct posts. “The party needs a new social media team ahead of the upcoming local body and assembly polls. I have submitted a detailed report recommending a revamp of the social media team,” he told Manorama.