Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday strongly dismissed allegations of inciting violence against Muslims after AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi filed a police complaint over a now-deleted video, accusing him of delivering “genocidal hate speech.”
Reacting to the complaint, Sarma said he had no knowledge of any such video and rejected the charge outright. “I am ready to go to jail. If he has filed a case against me, arrest me. What objection do I have? I have no objection,” the chief minister said, responding sharply to the accusations.
The complaint was submitted to the Hyderabad Police Commissioner on February 9, seeking criminal action against Sarma. Owaisi alleged that the video, purportedly shared from the official social media handle of the Assam BJP, showed the chief minister engaging in symbolic violence against Muslims.
In a post on X, Owaisi said the video depicted Sarma holding a firearm and targeting individuals portrayed as Muslims, accompanied by phrases such as “Point blank shot” and “No mercy.” He claimed the content was intended to outrage religious sentiments and incite communal hatred, calling it part of a broader pattern where “genocidal hate speech has become a norm.”
While denying the allegations related to the video, Sarma reiterated his long-standing political position. “But I stand by my words. I am against Bangladeshi infiltrators, and I will continue to be against them,” he said.
The controversy erupted after the Assam BJP’s official social media account posted the clip, which showed Sarma aiming a rifle at photographs of men wearing skullcaps, including one resembling Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi. The video, captioned “point blank shot” and featuring slogans such as “No mercy to Bangladeshis” and “Foreigner-free Assam,” was deleted following widespread outrage.
The incident surfaced amid heightened political and social tensions in Assam over rhetoric targeting Bengali-origin Muslims.
