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Assam BJP's X video showing CM Himanta with ‘point blank shot’ at Muslims sparks questions from Cong to PM Modi
X link now shows the BJP Assam Pradesh handle's post has been deleted; Cong leaders and others have shared screen-recording and video grabs
A since-deleted social media post by the ruling BJP's Assam state unit, with a video edited to show CM Himanta Biswa Sarma pointing a gun at Muslim men, has led to shock and outrage. This comes in continuation of a series of comments and claims by CM Sarma targeting the Muslim community in the election-bound state.
“An official BJP handle posted a video showing the targeted, ‘point-blank’ murder of minorities. This is nothing but a call to genocide — a dream this fascist regime has harboured since decades,” Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha member KC Venugopal wrote on X along with screenshots from the video.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate shared a screen-recording of the video that had the caption 'Point blank shot…' and asked, “Are the courts and other institutions sleeping?”
“This is not an innocuous video to be ignored as troll content. It is poison spread from the very top, and there must be consequences for this,” Venugopal said, adding that there is “no hope that Narendra Modi will condemn or act against this”.
He called upon the judiciary to act; “there shouldn’t be any leniency shown in this case”.
The BJP has not yet responded to the row, and the X link now shows the BJP Assam Pradesh handle's post has been deleted. The BJP handle posted the clip on February 7, overlaying targeting imagery on photos of men with stereotypical Muslim features, ending with “No Mercy” and a film poster.
The Congress's Kerala X handle juxtaposed the posting of the video with PM Modi's ongoing visit to Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country. “What's the message Modi is giving prime minister [Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim] who laid out red carpet for him, and the people of Malaysia, and to the Muslims in India and across the world?” the Congress handle posted.
It also expressed concerns about “implications of such extreme hatred done for narrow domestic political gains on Indians who work or settled permanently as minorities in almost all countries across the world”.
The main Opposition party demanded that Himanta Biswa Sarma be sacked and asked to apologise.
The Assam CM has made constant attacks, by citing alleged illegal immigration, against "Miya Muslims", a term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in the state. He claims they are all Bangladeshis who came in illegally, and thus “must be harassed”.
Sarma had defended tehse remarks, stating that he had not coined the term "Miya Muslims".
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi called the video “shooting at the chest of the Constitution”.
"Dear Prime Minister Ji, your favourite Chief Minister is directly shooting bullets at the chests of Muslims in his election advertisements, but in reality, he is shooting at the chest of the Constitution. One such bullet was fired by Godse at the chest of Mahatma Gandhi. Even if this video has now been deleted, Narendra Modi Ji, the question is to you: aren't you seeing all this yourself?" Pratapgarhi wrote on X.
Assam, along with West Bengal, is set for election by April. In Assam the Centre's ruling BJP is hoping to retain power, while in Bengal it is trying to unseat Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress.
