Cong slams Assam CM Himanta's video for ‘targeting minorities’, urges judiciary to act

The Congress on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) over a purported video posted on the X handle of the ruling party’s Assam unit, alleging that it depicted the “targeted, point-blank murder of minorities” and calling on the judiciary to take action in the matter.

The video, which was later deleted, showed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma purportedly aiming a rifle and firing a shot at two individuals — one wearing a skull cap and the other sporting a beard — with the caption “point-blank shot”.

Congress general secretary (organisation) K. C. Venugopal strongly criticised the BJP, saying the video went far beyond political provocation. “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 for decades,” Venugopal said in a post on X.

He said the clip could not be brushed aside as trolling or online mischief. “This is not innocuous content to be ignored. This is poison being spread from the very top, and there must be consequences,” he said, adding that while there was “no hope” of action from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the judiciary must intervene without leniency.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said deleting the video was insufficient. “This is who the BJP really is. The venom, hatred and violence are on Modi. Are the courts and other institutions sleeping?” she asked in a post on X.

Another Congress spokesperson, Shama Mohammed, accused the BJP of violating constitutional values. “You speak of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, but your favourite leader made a video shooting Muslims and got it posted from the official handle of BJP Assam,” she wrote, tagging the Prime Minister.

She said the incident amounted to an attack on the Constitution and criticised the Supreme Court of India for what she described as silence. “The court’s failure to take suo motu cognisance puts its role into question,” she said.

The criticism was echoed by Priyanka Chaturvedi, a Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, who said the video was among “the most hate-driven, targeted” content posted by a political party. “The post was deleted after outrage, but it remained online long enough to be downloaded and spread further,” she said, adding that the Election Commission would likely ignore “this vilest form of hate and political targeting”.

In an official statement, the Congress said the BJP’s Assam Pradesh X handle had posted a video that appeared to glorify the “targeted, point-blank murder of minorities”. The party described the content as “deeply abhorrent and disturbing”, arguing that it could not be dismissed as random troll material.

“This amounts to a call to mass violence and genocide,” the Congress said, alleging that it reflected the “true face” of a regime that had tried to normalise hatred over the past decade. Given the gravity of the issue, the party demanded strict action against what it termed the “spreading of disharmony and poison” in society.

Reiterating its demand for judicial intervention, the Congress said accountability could not be expected from the political executive. “The Indian National Congress condemns this act and urges the judiciary to take the strictest action against such open calls for violence that threaten peace and social harmony,” it said.

The BJP had not issued a response to the allegations at the time of filing this report.