India, July 4 -- Congress's latest political outreach ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections has stirred controversy, after the state unit launched a sanitary pad distribution initiative featuring Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's photo on the packaging.

At a press conference on Friday, Bihar Congress president Rajesh Kumar unveiled the campaign, under which sanitary napkins will be distributed to around five lakh women across the state. The initiative, he said, would be spearheaded by the Mahila Congress.

"We will launch a campaign through Mahila Congress to distribute sanitary napkins to women. We aim to distribute it to around 5 lakh women, and Mahila Congress workers will create awareness around the subject," Kumar...