Assam Congress files police complaint against BJP’s AI videos; alleges communal divide

Guwahati, Sep 18: The Assam Congress, on Thursday, filed a police complaint against the BJP over alleged AI-generated videos circulated on social media, accusing the ruling party of targeting its state unit president Gaurav Gogoi and the Muslim community.

The Congress’ social media and IT cell lodged the complaint at the Dispur Police Station, urging registration of an FIR.

“The agenda behind the AI video is to communally divide Assam. We have filed a complaint in Dispur Police Station following directions from our president Gaurav Gogoi. The move is also threatening as it comes ahead of the BTC polls,” party spokesperson Bedabrata Bora said.

In its complaint, the Congress urged police to impose relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, including 109 (Abetment), 196 (Promoting enmity between different groups), 197 (Assertions prejudicial to national integration), and 299 (Deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings), among others.

Since Monday, the Assam BJP has shared multiple videos on its official social media handles, alleging a growing threat from illegal immigrants in the state.

One of the videos carried the tagline “Assam without BJP” and AI-generated images depicting “Muslims taking over Guwahati, the airport, stadium, tea estates and the Rang Ghar amphitheatre.”

The video appealed to people to “vote carefully”, while referring to Gogoi as “paijan”, a term BJP leaders have repeatedly used since Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accused him of links with Pakistan’s ISI.

Reacting to the video, Gogoi said, “The words, actions and images produced by the BJP IT cell do not have the strength to scratch the surface of Assamese society.”

He added that Assam, enriched by figures such as Srimanta Sankardeva, Azan Pir, Swargadeo Siukapha, Lachit Borphukan and Bhupen Hazarika, deserves leaders who uplift its people.

Gogoi, the deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said his party’s vision was to create “a society of pilots, engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs, bankers and business owners.”

He added, “We want to see a ‘Bor Axom’ where hard work trumps hate, decency matters over hubris, democracy crushes autocracy, and everyone is treated with respect.”

The Assam BJP dismissed Gogoi’s remarks with a counter-post on social media, saying “Visionary paijan wants to build a paradise where his own bloodline won’t dare to step foot! … He screams about a Bor Axom day and night, but doesn’t want his own family anywhere near it.”

State Information and Public Relations Minister Pijush Hazarika also defended the BJP’s campaign, arguing that it highlighted the demographic threat posed by illegal immigration.

“If, in their logic, talking about illegal immigrants equals Islamophobia, then aren’t they themselves suggesting that all Muslims are illegal immigrants? Who’s the real Islamophobe here? Them or us?” Hazarika wrote.

With inputs from PTI