A now-deleted video generated by artificial intelligence and shared by India's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam state, home to more than 12 million Muslims, has been widely condemned after it showed the northeastern state's chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, appearing to shoot at Muslims. The 17-second clip shared on X and titled point blank shot circulated widely on social media on Saturday before being removed after public outrage and criticism from opposition politicians.
India's political opposition has warned that democracy is under threat amid a controversial exercise to revise the voter register across the country, which critics say will disenfranchise minority voters and entrench the power of the ruling Narendra Modi government. An debate erupted in India's parliament last week over the special intensive revision (SIR) process, which is taking place in nine states and three union territories, in one of the biggest revisions of the country's electoral roll in decades.
As of 5:30pm (1200 GMT) on Friday, the NDA had won two seats and was leading in 204 out of 243, while the opposition Mahagathabandhan, or the Grand Alliance, with the Indian National Congress and the regional Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) as the main parties, was leading in just 33 seats, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which is currently not part of either alliance, was leading in one seat.
For the last month, Indian police have raided multiple markets and homes, arresting Muslim men in states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party. Some of their homes have been bulldozed. The genesis of their alleged crime is common: writing, I Love Muhammad, a reference to Prophet Muhammad, on posters, t-shirts, or in social media posts. The authorities say the expression is threatening public order.