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A deleted Assam BJP video showing CM Himanta firing at a photograph has sparked outrage, with the Congress, TMC and CPI(M) accusing the BJP of promoting hatred.
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A video posted by the Bharatiya Janata Party showing Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma firing at a framed photograph of a man wearing a skull cap resembling MP Gaurav Gogoi has sparked a political storm, with opposition parties accusing the ruling party of inciting hatred and calling it a “call for genocide”.
The video, which was uploaded on the Assam Bharatiya Janata Party’s official social media handle It ended with an image of the prime minister dressed as a gunman and phrases such as “There will be no mercy for Bangladeshis” and “Why did you go to Pakistan?” and “Foreigners are prohibited in Assam.” The post was deleted after widespread backlash.
Congress was the first to react, with party general secretary KC Venugopal calling the video “nothing but a call for genocide”. He said the content could not be dismissed as vandalism and called on law enforcement authorities to take action, arguing that such messages reflected “toxicity spread from above.”
In a separate statement, Congress said the video glorified the “targeted, close-range killing of minorities” and amounted to a public call for mass violence. “This is extremely abhorrent and worrying, and reflects the true nature of a fascist regime that has long sought to normalize hatred,” the party said.
Reacting sharply to the controversy, Congress leader Supriya Srinath said that deleting the video was “not enough” and claimed that Himanta Biswa Sarma was seen “shooting a Muslim man” with the caption “point blank shot”. In a post on
Deleting the video of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma shooting dead a Muslim man with the caption ‘point blank shot’ is not enough This is what the Bharatiya Janata Party is: mass murderers
This poison, hatred and violence is on you, Mr. Modi.
Are courts and other institutions asleep? pic.twitter.com/pcWd6nLfpf
— Supriya Shrine (@SupriyaShrinate) February 8, 2026
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) also condemned the video, calling it a “green light for genocide and mass murder”. The party said the video reduced Indian politics to “performative carnage, normalized hatred and televised dehumanization of Muslims” and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of deliberately inciting communal polarization.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) called the video an “open invitation for ethnic cleansing and genocide” and claimed that the Assam state government was using the “infiltrator” story to justify targeted hostility against Muslims. The CPI(M) demanded immediate intervention by the Supreme Court of India and warned that communal harmony in the state was at risk.
When contacted by the media after the post was deleted, Ranjiv Kumar Sarma, spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Assam, refused to comment, saying that since the video had been deleted, there was “nothing to say.” Biswajit Hound, the BJP’s social media convenor for Assam, also declined to comment, saying only that the party’s social media team consists of several young members.
The controversy has renewed scrutiny of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s online content. Last year, the same handle posted an AI-generated video depicting a dystopian “Assam without the BJP,” and the visuals were widely criticized for being communal. The post was later challenged in court and the Supreme Court issued a notice seeking its removal.
Opposition parties are currently demanding criminal proceedings, intervention by the Election Commission, and a judicial investigation, saying the latest video crosses constitutional and moral boundaries.
Guwahati [Gauhati]India, India
February 8, 2026, 21:45 IST
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