Supreme Court issues notice on plea against BJP-Assam video accused of 'vilifying Muslims'

New Delhi: New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice on a plea seeking the removal of a video posted by the Assam unit of the BJP for allegedly targeting, vilifying and demonising Muslims.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta agreed to examine an application filed in a pending writ petition by journalist Qurban Ali and former judge Anjana Prakash, concerning hate speech.

Advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for the applicant, argued that the video—shared ahead of the upcoming elections—suggested that if a certain political party did not come to power, a particular community would take over.

“It showed people with skullcaps and beards. In such cases, an FIR should be lodged suo motu. If not, then contempt action should follow,” the bench remarked.

The application sought directions to X India Pvt Ltd and the BJP’s Assam Pradesh unit to take down the video from the social media platform.

The plea claimed that the BJP’s Assam unit, on September 15, 2025, circulated a video presenting a “grossly false narrative” that Muslims would take over Assam if the BJP lost power. The video, posted on the party’s official X handle, allegedly depicted men in skullcaps and women in burqas seizing control of tea estates, Guwahati airport and the city itself.

“The ruling dispensation, BJP-Assam, is bound by the Constitution to uphold secular values. However, the video openly targets, vilifies and demonises Muslims,” the plea filed through advocate Lzafeer Ahmad stated.

It added that a state government is constitutionally bound to protect all communities and cannot discriminate based on religion, race, caste, gender or language.

“As an elected government, the burden of being fair, just and secular is far greater,” it said.

The plea further noted that the video, shared on BJP Assam’s official X handle, had been reposted over 6,100 times, liked 19,000 times and viewed 4.6 million times as of September 18, 2025.

“The video must be taken down immediately to prevent further spread of communal disharmony, unrest and enmity,” the application said.