Hyderabad MP Owaisi flags ‘hate speech’ by Assam CM Himanta, controversial video targeting Muslims

Hyderabad: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party president and Member of Parliament, Asaduddin Owaisi, filed a criminal complaint against Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for genocidal hate speech and the circulation of a violent video targeting Muslims.

The formal complaint was lodged on February 9 with Hyderabad City police.

The complaint, submitted to the Commissioner of Police, cites ‘genocidal hate speech’ and the dissemination of a violent video targeting the Muslim community as grounds for the demand.

The move follows a wave of nationwide outrage after the official X handle of the BJP Assam unit posted a controversial video featuring the Chief Minister. Although the post was subsequently deleted, it had already garnered over 5,00,000 views and been widely circulated.

The content of the controversial video

The video, captioned ‘Point blank shot,’ was shared on Saturday, February 7 and is described by critics as a direct incitement to violence.

It reportedly contained the following elements:

Shooting Imagery: The clip showed CM Himanta Biswa Sarma purportedly aiming an air rifle and firing ‘point-blank’ at photographs or AI-generated images of individuals with stereotypical Muslim features, specifically men wearing skullcaps and beards.

In several frames, the Assam chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, was portrayed as a gunslinging hero from a film.

Flashing text across the screen included phrases such as ‘No mercy,’ ‘Foreigner-free Assam,’ ‘Why did you go to Pakistan?’ and ‘No forgiveness for Bangladeshis’.

One of the individuals depicted in a skullcap reportedly resembled Congress MP and Assam Congress President Gaurav Gogoi.

Opposition calls it unconstitutional

Opposition leaders KC Venugopal and Asaduddin Owaisi argue that the video transcends mere political satire and enters the realm of exterminatory politics. “This is not an innocuous video to be ignored as troll content, but as poison spread from the very top. It represents a dangerous escalation of hate,” says KC Venugopal, Congress general secretary.

Violations of Constitutional values

The opposition contends that the video violates the fundamental principles that a Chief Minister is sworn to protect under his Constitutional Oath.

Article 14 (Equality): By singling out a specific religious community for hostile depiction, the video is seen as a violation of the right to equality and equal protection under the law.

Secularism: As a core feature of the Constitution, secularism requires the state to remain neutral. A Chief Minister appearing to ‘eliminate’ a specific group is viewed as a total abandonment of this duty.

Incitement to Enmity (BNS Sections): Leaders like Sagarika Ghose (TMC) have pointed out that the video likely violates sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), specifically those dealing with:

Section 152: Acts endangering sovereignty or integrity (by creating internal communal rift).

Section 196 (formerly 153A IPC): Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion.

The Opposition argues that the ‘foreigner’ and ‘infiltrator’ labels are to dehumanise Indian citizens.