The BJP on Tuesday seized on a headless image of a person posted by the Congress with “Gayab (missing)” written on top to accuse the Opposition party of becoming “Lashkar-e-Pakistan-Congress” and launching a “veiled incitement against” Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The Congress leaves little doubt with its use of ‘Sar tan se juda’ imagery. This is not merely a political statement; it is a dog whistle aimed at its Muslim vote bank and a veiled incitement against the Prime Minister,” BJP’s social media head Amit Malviya said on X, responding to the Congress’s poster on the same platform.

The headless image was accompanied by the following message in Hindi: “Zimmedari ke samay — Gayab (In times of responsibility — missing).” The reference appeared to be to Modi. The Congress had earlier been critical of Modi not attending the all-party meeting called by his government in the wake of the attack. Later in the day, the Congress deleted the image.

Soon after the poster was posted, the BJP went all out against the Congress. At a media address at the party headquarters, spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia waved a printed copy of the poster and addressed the principal Opposition party as “Lashkar-e-Pakistan-Congress”. The BJP’s X handle termed the Congress “Muslim League 2.0”.

“Congress flaunts a headless kurta to echo the extremist ‘Sar tan se juda’ slogan, exposing its continuous slide into Muslim League 2.0 — divisive, desperate, and directionless,” the BJP posted.

“Now that PM Shri @narendramodi has spoken the only language Pakistan understands, Islamabad’s official handles are parroting the same beheading cry, laying bare their jihadist creed,” the BJP added, stressing that “terror will be met with bullets, not biryani” by a “decisive” Modi.

The Congress post was used by former Pakistan minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain to target Modi. “Oops, I had heard only donkeys lose their horns, but it seems Modi has disappeared here,” Hussain’s post said.

Asked about the “Gayab” poster, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said: “The Congress had demanded an all-party meeting led by PM Modi, but he did not participate. He returned (from Saudi Arabia) on April 24 but went to Bihar for an election rally. He has time for the election rally but not the all-party meeting.”

Minister Kiren Rijiju struck back: “When our Prime Minister is leading the fight against terrorism strongly, then why does the Congress have such a low opinion about the Prime Minister of its country? How low will the Congress stoop?”

BJP’s social media head Amit Malviya, in a long X post in response to the poster, said that it was not the first time the Congress had sought to incite violence against Modi. He accused Congress leaders of acting like “Pakistan’s sleeper cells” and “PR-agents”.

“Rahul Gandhi, on multiple occasions, has both instigated and justified violence toward the Prime Minister. Yet the Congress will never succeed, for the Prime Minister enjoys the love and blessings of millions of Indians,” Malviya said.