Congress slams Assam BJP over ‘point-blank shot’ video, calls it ‘genocidal’
Venugopal says the video not innocuous trolling but poison from top, demanding accountability & consequences across party lines
File image of Congress general secretary in charge of organisation, K C Venugopal (Photo: KC Venugopal/meta)
New Delhi, Feb 8: The Congress hit out at the BJP over a purported video posted on a microblogging platform of the ruling party's Assam unit, claiming it shows the "targeted point-blank murder of minorities" and the judiciary must act with no leniency shown in the matter.
Congress general secretary in charge of organisation, K C Venugopal, slammed the BJP over the issue.
"An official BJP handle posted a video showing the targeted, 'point-blank' murder of minorities. This is nothing but a call to genocide - a dream this fascist regime has harboured for decades," Venugopal said on the microblogging platform.
He said this was not an innocuous video to be dismissed as troll content but poison spread from the top, warranting consequences.
"There is no hope that Narendra Modi will condemn or act against this, but the judiciary must act, and there shouldn't be any leniency shown in this case," Venugopal stated.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said that deleting the video, which showed Assam Chief Minister Sarma "shooting Muslim men" with the caption "point-blank shot", was not enough.
"This is who the BJP really is - mass murderers. This venom, hatred and violence is on you, Mr Modi. Are the courts and other institutions sleeping?" she said on a social networking platform.
Congress spokesperson Shama Mohammed said in a post on a social media platform, "@narendramodi, you talk about 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', but your favourite man, Himanta Biswa Sarma, made a video Shooting Muslims and got it posted from the official handle of BJP Assam."
"This is an attack on the Indian Constitution. I am shocked that the Supreme Court of India is acting as a mute spectator. The court's silence and failure to take suo motu cognisance puts its role into question," she further added.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also slammed the BJP.
"The BJP Assam Pradesh X handle posted one of the most hate-driven, targeted videos titled 'Point Blank Shot'; after outrage, it went on to delete the post, but it was there long enough for many people to download and spread it further," Chaturvedi said on a microblogging site.
“Shamelessly, EC will ignore this vilest form of hate and political targeting. Toothless and useless, literally, in front of BJP," she added.
The now-deleted video showed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma purportedly taking aim with a rifle and firing a shot at two people" one wearing a skull cap and the other with a beard, with "point-blank shot" as the caption.
PTI