The Patna High Court has ordered the Congress party to remove an AI-generated video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother, Heeraben Modi, from all social media platforms. The order was issued on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, by Acting Chief Justice PB Bajantari.
The controversy began after the Bihar Congress unit shared the video on social media with a caption that loosely translates to "Mother came in the sahab's dream. Watch an interesting interaction between them". The video portrayed Modi's mother criticizing him for his politics. The AI-generated clip depicted a Modi lookalike going to bed after allegedly engaging in "vote stealing," and in his dream, a woman resembling his late mother scolds him for exploiting her name for political purposes.
The video sparked immediate and strong reactions, particularly from leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who condemned the video as disrespectful and crossing ethical boundaries. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad stated, "Is this the level Congress has stooped to? Making memes of our PM's late mother, that too of such a cheap standard. How low will Congress fall? It's shameful. We will make it a very big issue across the country". Other BJP leaders, including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Chirag Paswan, and Anurag Thakur, also criticized the video, with some calling it "reprehensible," "inhuman," and "disgusting". BJP Delhi Election Cell convenor Sanket Gupta filed a FIR at the North Avenue Police Station in Delhi on September 13, alleging that the video tarnished the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother and grossly violated law, morality, and women's dignity.
In response to the backlash, Congress defended the video, stating that no disrespect was intended. Congress media head Pawan Khera questioned the objections, stating, "What is their objection? Just because a mother is trying to educate her son to do something right, where is it disrespectful — neither to the mother, whom we respect dearly, nor to the son". Despite these defenses, Janata Dal (United) (JDU) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha called the video an "extremely vile act" and an insult to all mothers and women.
The Patna High Court's directive to remove the video came after a petition was filed in the matter of Vivekananda Singh versus Union of India. The court appreciated the petitioner's plea and directed the Congress party to stop all streaming of the video. The lawyer representing the Centre, Mr. Ratnesh Khushwaha, stated that the court viewed the video as derogatory. The matter is scheduled to be heard again in two weeks.
The controversy highlights the growing concerns surrounding the use of AI-generated content, particularly deepfakes, in political messaging and the ethical considerations that come with it. The incident has ignited a political firestorm, with the BJP accusing Congress of lowering the political discourse ahead of the Bihar assembly elections.
