'We're Both on Sale': In Cong's Meme Jibe, Air India Mascot 'Maharaja' Welcomes 'Jodidaar' Scindia

Congress’ youth wing chief Srinivas B V on Friday took a jibe at BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on being appointed as the civil aviation minister with a meme showing Air India mascot telling Scindia “we are both for sale”, drawing a sharp reaction from the BJP which said it reflected the opposition party’s frustration. The meme was first shared from the social media account of the Congress’ Madhya Pradesh unit but it gained a lot of traction after it was shared by the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) chief.

Srinivas shared the meme which showed Air India Mascot ‘Maharaja’ telling Scindia, “Aiyye Maharaj, hum dono bikau hain (Come Maharaja, we are both for sale)”, and added the caption, “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi..”.

Last night, the Madhya Pradesh Congress shared the meme and wrote, “Bikau ko bechne ka kaam mila, Gaddari ka use kuch yu inaam mila (One who is up for sale has been given the job of selling, got a reward for being a traitor).”

Hitting out at Srinivas’ post, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said the Congress stooping to such levels to target a “young and enterprising” leader like Scindia shows its frustration. “The message is very clear that the BJP is a party which taps talent, which knows how to recognise people of merit and substance. In Congress, the mantra is that if anybody has more potential than the so-called prince of the Congress then don’t let him rise and keep him in the shadow of Rahul Gandhi,” he told a TV channel.

Slamming the Congress for using the term ‘Bikau’, Bhatia said this comes from people who are out on bail on corruption charges. There were also several social media posts taking a dig at Scindia and also many in which the Congress was slammed for targeting him. Asked about Scindia becoming a minister, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath said this is a matter between Scindia and the BJP. “May he be happy…Ab kaise aage chalti hai gaadi wo dekha jayega (let’s see how this vehicle moves forward),” Nath told reporters in Bhopal.

Scindia (50) resigned from the Congress and joined the BJP in March last year and his move triggered a chain of events which finally culminated in the collapse of the Nath government just 15 months after its formation, paving the way for the saffron party to assume power which it lost towards the end of 2018. On joining the BJP, he was made a Rajya Sabha member, while Shivraj Singh Chouhan came back as the chief minister.

The scion of the former royal family of Gwalior had started showing signs of restlessness after the Congress high command chose veteran Kamal Nath over him to take over as the chief minister in December 2018. Things came to a head when Scindia warned of “hitting the streets” against his own party-led government if promises made to people in the manifesto were not fulfilled. The then chief minister Nath’s retort that Scindia was free to carry out his threat to launch an agitation, finally proved his undoing.

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