New Delhi A since-deleted social media video posted by the Assam unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has triggered sharp criticism from the Congress, after it showed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in an edited visual appearing to aim a gun at Muslim men.
The video, uploaded on the BJP Assam Pradesh handle on X with the caption “Point blank shot…”, was widely circulated before being taken down. Congress leaders described the imagery as disturbing and accused the ruling party of promoting hate politics in the election-bound state.
“It is deeply abhorrent and disturbing and cannot be dismissed as random troll content,” the Congress party said in a post on X.
Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha MP K C Venugopal said the video amounted to an explicit threat against minorities. Sharing screenshots, he alleged that an official BJP handle had depicted “targeted violence” and demanded judicial intervention. He also questioned whether institutions were responding adequately to the incident.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate shared a screen recording of the video and asked whether constitutional authorities were “sleeping” while such content was circulated from party platforms. She said the video could not be dismissed as casual or troll material.
The BJP has not issued a public response to the controversy. Attempts to access the original post now show that it has been deleted.
Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi termed the video an attack on constitutional values. In a post on X, he said the imagery symbolically targeted the Constitution itself and asked the Prime Minister whether he was willing to acknowledge or act on the issue.
The Congress demanded that Sarma be removed from office and issue a public apology. The party also linked the video to the chief minister’s past remarks about “Miya Muslims”, a term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam. Sarma has previously justified his comments by citing alleged illegal immigration, claims that have been contested by Opposition parties.
Assam is expected to go to polls by April, alongside West Bengal. The controversy adds to an already charged political atmosphere as parties intensify campaigning in the run-up to the elections.
