'Jholewala Fakir in Parliament': Mahua Moitra reacts to viral video of her 'hiding' Louis Vuitton handbag

After the video of her alleged Louis Vuitton highend bag went viral on social media, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday reacted with a jibe at BJP's Shehzad Poonawalla and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a collage of her pictures featuring her handbag. 

"Jholewala fakir in Parliament since 2019.

Jhola leke aye the... jhola leke chal padenge... (Came with a bag, will leave with it)," she tweeted along with the picture. 

Jholewala fakir in Parliament since 2019.

Jhola leke aye the… jhola leke chal padenge… pic.twitter.com/2YOWst8j98

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) August 2, 2022

Her apparent jibe was at Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had called himself a `fakir` after winning the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The controversy erupted after the social media went abuzz with the viral video of Moitra hiding her expensive Louis Vuitton bag during a discussion on prise rise and inflation in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

When Trinamool`s Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar was speaking on price rise, Moitra, who was sitting just next her, was seen sliding her bad under the table. Reports suggest that her bag was priced at over Rs 1.5 lakh.

After the video went viral, netizens starting raising questions on how could an opposition MP cornering the government over the issue of price rise carry such an expensive handbag.

On Monday evening, Poonawalla posted a short video clip on Twitter in which Moitra could be seen picking her handbag and putting it down on the floor under the desk as another member of the House spoke on the issue of price rise.

"Marie Antoinette Mahau Moitra hiding her expensive bag during a discussion on price rise- hypocrisy has a face & its this! A party that believes in TMC- Too Much Corruption discusses price rise after not cutting VAT & alliance with UPA that gave run away inflation of 10% plus," Poonawalla wrote along with the video.

Marie Antoinette Mahau Moitra hiding her expensive bag during a discussion on price rise- hypocrisy has a face & its this! A party that believes in TMC- Too Much Corruption discusses price rise after not cutting VAT & alliance with UPA that gave run away inflation of 10% plus pic.twitter.com/VByJsk4tBV

— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) August 1, 2022

Opposition MPs in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday raised concerns over the rising inflation in the country that is impacting the common people and asked the government to provide relief to the poor by reducing duties.

Members of the ruling BJP, however, said the inflation rate was only at 7 per cent and this was mainly on account of external factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war and global disruptions. They also hailed the government for navigating the economy in the right direction in such a troublesome time. 

While finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha yesterday gave an account of all the parameters to assess the economy, and said there is no chance of the country going into recession or stagflation, the Congress staged a walkout saying they were not satisfied with her response.