The petition also cites Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's series of alleged hate speeches against the Bengali-speaking Muslim community in Assam
NEW DELHI – A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and NV Anjaria, on Tuesday agreed to hear a petition filed by leaders of Left parties CPI(M) and CPI, against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over the contentious video posted on the state BJP’s social media handle depicting him pointing a rifle and firing shots at people appearing to be Muslims.
The petition also mentions the chief minister’s series of alleged hate speeches against the Bengali-speaking Muslim community in Assam.
The bench took note of the submissions of lawyer Nizam Pasha, appearing for the Left leaders.
“We seek urgent intervention of this court with respect to disturbing speeches made by the sitting CM of Assam, including a recent video posted where he is shown as shooting at members of a particular community. Complaints filed, but no FIR is registered,” the lawyer said.
The CJI said: “The problem is, as soon as elections come, part of the election is fought in the Supreme Court. That is the problem. We will find out and will give a date.”
Meanwhile, the Congress party in the state filed a police complaint on Tuesday against the ruling BJP over the video, which has since been deleted after widespread uproar.
The complaint filed by the Congress legislators Sibamoni Bora and Diganta Barman at the Dispur Police Station in Guwahati stated that the video, “is highly provocative and communal, which will definitely lead (to) social disharmony amongst the people.”
The video was posted on Assam BJP’s X handle with the caption “point blank shoot” and shows actual footage of the chief minister firing shots, clubbed with AI-generated images of people wearing skullcaps and beards, representing Muslims.
The text displayed in the video reads: “foreigner free Assam,” “No mercy,” “Why did you not go to Pakistan?” and “There is no forgiveness to Bangladeshis,” among other phrases.
The video triggered outrage from political parties, activists and journalists, prompting the BJP to take it down.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal slammed the video as a “call for genocide” while party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said it revealed the real face of the BJP, calling the saffron party “mass murderers.”
“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 on X.
“This is what the BJP really is: Mass murderers. This venom, hatred and violence is on you, Mr Modi. Are the courts and other institutions sleeping?” Shrinate wrote on X.
The video came as Chief Minister Sarma has been facing criticism for his series of “hate speech” against the Bengali-speaking Muslim community, including a remark that his job was to “make them suffer.”
Influential Muslim organisation, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, has approached the Supreme Court stating that the chief minister’s comments against Bengali-speaking Muslims were communal, unconstitutional, and amounted to hate speech by a person holding a high constitutional office.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday lodged a police complaint against the Assam chief minister and slammed him for reducing constitutional governance to prejudice and intimidation.
