A video posted on the official X account of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Assam unit on Monday has triggered widespread outrage, with critics accusing the ruling party of vilifying Muslims and inciting communal hatred.
The AI-generated video, shared on @BJP4Assam, depicts Muslims in various parts of the state in a way critics say portrays them as illegal immigrants seizing government land. Social media users condemned the video as inflammatory, questioning whether it was aimed at fomenting violence against Muslims in Assam.
“This is so disturbing, so hateful, so xenophobic, and so genocidal in its own way. This is not normal politics. It’s abhorrent and disgusting,” wrote user Tanpreet Sehgal on X. “How can it be okay that the official social media handle of the ruling party can just dehumanize and dog-whistle minorities like this?”
Prominent journalist Parth MN called the video “a new low” even by BJP standards.
Critics have compared the post to a campaign ad from the BJP’s Jharkhand unit during state elections, which also showed alleged Muslim migrants taking over a family’s house. The Election Commission later ordered that the ad be taken down, calling it “communal, malicious and misleading.”
“The official BJP Assam handle demonising Muslims and projecting citizens as occupiers. The only people who have occupier dreams are those who openly root for a Hindu Rashtra,” slammed writer and critic Farzana Versey.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has frequently made controversial remarks about Muslims, has previously claimed that Muslims will outnumber Hindus in the state by 2041 and that most Muslims in Assam are migrants. He has also said the state government has been evicting “illegal settlers” from over 1.19 lakh bighas of land since May 2021, stating, “all these people who have encroached upon our land are from one religion.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
