Assam BJP removes social media co-convenor after AI video showing CM Himanta Biswa Sarma ‘shooting minorities’ sparks row

GUWAHATI: Assam BJP on Thursday removed one of its social media cell co-convenors, Ron Vikash Gaurav, after the party faced severe criticism over the controversial AI-generated video posted on X, which allegedly depicted CM Himanta Biswa Sarma shooting at two members of the minority community.

Chief spokesperson of the party’s state unit, Kishore Upadhyay, said Ron Vikash, who was responsible for content creation and posting, had been relived of his duty.


“He (Ron Vikash) has been relieved of his engagement. The creation and posting of that particular video on the X handle, involving the CM, was unauthorised,” Upadhyay said on Thursday.

Upadhyay said there were procedures under which permission was required for such political posts, but Ron Vikash did not follow the rules. He added that in the case of posting about organisational meetings or developmental activities, there were some relaxations. However, he said that such a serious post was totally unauthorised.

Senior party leader Ranjib Kumar Sharma is in-charge of the social media cell of the state unit, while Biswajit Khound is the convenor.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee had lodged an FIR at Dispur police station against the video, which had been posted on BJP’s official X handle. The video, which was uploaded on Saturday, was later deleted as it triggered a huge controversy.

State PCC president Gaurav Gogoi had accused Sarma of “inciting genocide” against Muslims through such a controversial video, while the CM said that he was not aware of any such video.

Sharma, though, said BJP had posted the video aiming at migrant Muslims from Bangladesh, who have been trying to cross the international border. “Some people, especially Congress, misinterpreted the video and we deleted it,” Sharma said.

On Wednesday, the CM had said that police had registered a case, based on a complaint by Congress, against which a BJP worker had also filed a counter-complaint. Previously, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had also lodged a police complaint over the video in Hyderabad, seeking criminal action against Sarma.