SC notice to Assam BJP on posts 'vilifying' Muslims

THE APPLICATION FILED IN A PIL SAID THAT THE VIDEO, VIEWED 4.6 MILLION TIMES, PRESENTS A 'FALSE NARRATIVE' DEPICTING A MUSLIM TAKEOVER OF ASSAM IF THE BJP LOSES POWER

- Abraham Thomas

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Assam unit and social media platform X to respond to a plea seeking immediate removal of content that openly vilifies and targets Muslims in the state.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued the notice on an application filed in a pending public interest litigation examining hate speech and violence against Muslims and steps to contain it.

The application, filed by former Patna high court judge Anjana Prakash and journalist Qurban Ali, seeks urgent takedown of a video posted by BJP Assam Pradesh's official X handle on September 15.

It also seeks to hold the political party accountable for violating constitutional guarantees of secularism and equality that require all citizens to be treated equally without discrimination on grounds of religion.