In response to trolling on social media over a video in which Mahua Moitra is said to be hiding her handbag, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP on Tuesday shared a collage on Twitter with photos of her carrying the handbag publicly since 2019.
A clip earlier went viral in which, as TMC's Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar was speaking on the issue of price rise in Lok Sabha, Moitra appeared to be moving her handbag from her side to near her feet that would have put it out of view.
People on social media caught it and commented that she was hiding her handbag, which some claimed to be from the luxury company Louis Vuitton that would cost around Rs 1.5 lakh.
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Now Moitra has responded to the trolling with her photographs carrying that bag and quipping words from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Moitra tweeted, "Jholewala fakir in Parliament since 2019. Jhola leke aye the. Jhola leke chal padenge."
This translates to "The fakir with a jhola [handbag] has been been in the Parliament since 2019. They came with the bag. They will leave with the bag."
This is a throwback to Modi's public comments from 2016 when he was referring to his humble roots. He had said that he came from poverty with just one bag, and since he came with just one bag, he would leave with that one bag only.
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Punjab Kesari reported Modi as saying in 2016: "Main to fakir hu. Mujhe koyi lalach nahi. Mera kya, jhola utha kar aaya hu, jhola utha kar chal doonga."
It roughly translates to: "I am a fakir — a poor man. I don't have any greed. What of me, I came here with just a bag, I will leave with that bag."
While people affiliated with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shared Moitra's clip on social media, some sections of Opposition also joined her trolling. Beena S Naik, President of Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress, also took to Twitter to mock Moitra. She said in a tweet: "Tum Itna Jo Ghabra Gayi Ho, Bag Mey Kya Hai Jo Chupa Rahi Ho?"
It translates to: "Why are you so afraid? What are you hiding in your bag?"
