Dilip Saikia Defends Deleting Controversial Assam CM Video

After widespread controversy over a now-deleted AI-generated video showing Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma targeting and firing at Muslim men, which was shared by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) state unit, president Dilip Saikia on Monday clarified that sending any wrong message through the video was not intended.

Saikia told reporters today that the Chief Minister was captured holding the air rifle, seen in the controversial video, at a training centre during his visit to Golaghat district in Assam. He said, “He [Chief Minister Sarma] went to Golaghat that day and was present at a training centre where the photo was taken.”

Responding to why the video was later deleted, Saikia said, “When the people thought that instead of a better interpretation, there can be a negative interpretation, that’s why we did it. What the people want, what they feel…that’s why we deleted it. A wrong message should not go to either the opposition or our well-wishers, our supporters. Hence, we followed the policy of prevention is better than cure and deleted it.”

The video in question depicted the Chief Minister Sarma holding an air rifle, followed by AI-generated scenes depicting men wearing skull caps and sporting long beards, markers of their Muslim identity. The deleted video, captioned “point blank shot”, showed Sarma firing at those men. It was posted by the Assam BJP on its official social media handles, but was later deleted after it was flagged for being hateful towards the Muslim community and promoting extreme violence.

FIR Against Himanta Biswa Sarma

The incident also drew an FIR from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi against Himanta Biswa Sarma. He claimed that Sarma repeatedly made inflammatory statements targeting a specific community through various media platforms in a bid to promote enmity between religious groups. Owaisi's complaint alleged that these actions were deliberate and malicious attempts to outrage religious feelings and prejudice national integration.

CM Had No Knowledge

Meanwhile, Sarma said that he had no knowledge about the video and said that he would be ready to go to jail, but would not back down from the fight against illegal Bangladeshi immigration.

“I don’t know anything about any video. If anyone has filed a case against me, then [police] should arrest me. I have no objection,” he said, adding, “I will stand by my words. We are against Bangladeshi infiltrators, and we will continue to be against them.”

Also Read: Mira Borthakur's FIR Against Assam BJP Demand Over Deleted 'Hateful' Video