Inciting hatred: Activists approach court after Assam CM's deleted shooting video
The petition flags what it describes as repeated statements targeting the Muslim community and argues that such remarks undermine constitutional values and the duties attached to high public offices.
A public interest litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court alleging incitement of hatred and irresponsible statements by high constitutional functionaries, citing anti-Muslim remarks by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other senior ministers and governors as examples of violations of constitutional responsibility by persons holding high office.
Apart from Sarma’s remarks on “Miya Muslims,” the petition also refers to comments such as “flood jihad.” It further cites his statement suggesting that members of a particular religious community should be removed from the voters’ list. The petitioners have said that similar divisive remarks have also been made by ministers and officials in other states.
The petition flags what it describes as repeated statements targeting the Muslim community and argues that such remarks undermine constitutional values and the duties attached to high public offices.
The plea has been filed by 12 social activists, including Roop Rekha Verma, former Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, John Dayal and others, seeking the court’s intervention in the matter.
The petitioners cited examples of what they described as “several concerning statements by public officials” while filing the PIL against persons holding high positions. The instances listed include remarks by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “kathmulla” comments made in the Assembly.
The plea also refers to statements by Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane, who reportedly termed Muslims as “Pakistani pimps”, and remarks attributed to National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, in which he allegedly exhorted the youth to “avenge history."
The now-deleted video shared by the Assam BJP’s social media account showed Sarma firing point-blank at images of men wearing skull caps and beards.
Text flashed across the screen reading “foreigner free Assam” and “No mercy”, alongside other phrases that critics described as overtly communal.
In some frames, Sarma was portrayed as a hero from a Western-style film, while Assamese text in the video reportedly read, “Why did you not go to Pakistan?” and “There is no forgiveness to Bangladeshis.” The timing of the post coincided with heightened tensions over rhetoric targeting Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam.
A public interest litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court alleging incitement of hatred and irresponsible statements by high constitutional functionaries, citing anti-Muslim remarks by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other senior ministers and governors as examples of violations of constitutional responsibility by persons holding high office.
Apart from Sarma’s remarks on “Miya Muslims,” the petition also refers to comments such as “flood jihad.” It further cites his statement suggesting that members of a particular religious community should be removed from the voters’ list. The petitioners have said that similar divisive remarks have also been made by ministers and officials in other states.
The petition flags what it describes as repeated statements targeting the Muslim community and argues that such remarks undermine constitutional values and the duties attached to high public offices.
The plea has been filed by 12 social activists, including Roop Rekha Verma, former Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, John Dayal and others, seeking the court’s intervention in the matter.
The petitioners cited examples of what they described as “several concerning statements by public officials” while filing the PIL against persons holding high positions. The instances listed include remarks by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “kathmulla” comments made in the Assembly.
The plea also refers to statements by Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane, who reportedly termed Muslims as “Pakistani pimps”, and remarks attributed to National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, in which he allegedly exhorted the youth to “avenge history."
The now-deleted video shared by the Assam BJP’s social media account showed Sarma firing point-blank at images of men wearing skull caps and beards.
Text flashed across the screen reading “foreigner free Assam” and “No mercy”, alongside other phrases that critics described as overtly communal.
In some frames, Sarma was portrayed as a hero from a Western-style film, while Assamese text in the video reportedly read, “Why did you not go to Pakistan?” and “There is no forgiveness to Bangladeshis.” The timing of the post coincided with heightened tensions over rhetoric targeting Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam.