Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: CPM and CPI filed petitions in Supreme Court on Tuesday for registration of FIRs and an SIT probe against Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for alleged hate speeches in the past and a recent ‘target shooting’ video circulated on social media allegedly threatening violence against minority community.Advocate Mohd Nizamuddin Pasha told a bench head-ed by CJI Surya Kant that the matter required urgent hearing because the threats of violence against the minority community have come directly from the CM, a constitutional post holder who is required to be responsible to constitutional mandates.CJI Kant said the petitions will be listed as early as possible after curing them of defects, if any, by the petitioners. However, given the trend that such petitions become a norm to settle political scores in the courtroom ahead of elections, the CJI said, “As and when elections take place, the same atmosphere pervades the Supreme Court.” tnn Left parties accuse Sarma of hate speech | page 9 In their petitions, CPM through Subhasini Ali and CPI through Annie Raja said many of Sarma’s speeches, delivered in Assam and outside the state, viewed cumulatively “constitute ex facie hate speech inasmuch as they degrade and demean a minority, propagate false and stigmatising stereotypes, incite social and economic boycott, and encourage conditions of exclusion and violence against the said community.”They drew the court’s attention to a recent video posted on the official handle of Assam BJP on X depicting Sarma “discharging a firearm toward an animated image of two visibly Muslim men positioned within the crosshairs of the weapon, following which their photograph is shown as being struck by successive gunshots. The video is accompanied by phrases – ‘point blank shot’ and ‘no mercy’.”
