The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Tuesday filed a police complaint at the Dispur Police Station against the BJP and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, alleging that a social media post shared by the party carried provocative and communal overtones aimed at the Muslim community.
In the complaint, APCC leaders Sibamoni Bora and Diganta Bauman stated that content posted on February 7 from the official X handle of BJP Assam (@BJP4Assam) allegedly showed Chief Minister Sarma symbolically firing at members of the Muslim community at close range. They claimed the visuals were accompanied by inflammatory phrases such as “foreigner-free Assam,” “no mercy,” “why did you not go to Pakistan?” and references to “Bangladeshis,” terms that they said were often used to target Bengali-origin Muslims, derogatorily labelled as “Miyas.”
The Congress leaders argued that the content was deeply offensive and had the potential to disturb communal harmony in the state. The APCC urged the police to register a case under appropriate provisions of the law and initiate necessary action.
Earlier in the day, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) approached the Supreme Court seeking directions against what it described as discriminatory remarks made by Sarma against Muslims. The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before Chief Justice of India Surya Kant by advocate Nizam Pasha. Seeking immediate intervention, Pasha referred to speeches and a video allegedly showing the Chief Minister shooting at members of a particular community.
Responding to the request, the Chief Justice observed that political disputes often spill into courtrooms during election periods. “When elections come, part of the battle is fought in the Supreme Court. That is the problem. We will see,” he remarked, indicating that the court would examine the issue.
Separately, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday lodged a complaint with the Hyderabad City Police, seeking criminal action against Sarma over a now-deleted video that allegedly depicted violence against Muslims. In a post on X, Owaisi said the video showed Sarma symbolically shooting people “clearly portrayed as Muslims” and termed it “genocidal hate speech.” He also shared a copy of his complaint, alleging that phrases like “point-blank shot” and “no mercy” were meant to inflame religious sentiments and incite hatred.
According to the complaint, the video was uploaded on February 7 from the Assam BJP’s official account and removed the following day, though it continues to circulate online. Owaisi said police are constitutionally obligated to act in cases of hate speech even without a formal complaint.
Reacting to Owaisi’s move, Sarma said on Monday that he had no objection to being arrested if a case had been filed against him. He added that he stood by his remarks opposing Bangladeshi infiltrators. “If he has filed a case, arrest me. I have no objection. But I will continue to oppose Bangladeshi infiltrators,” the Chief Minister said.
