Assam: BJP-linked play depicts bulldozer razing Muslim family's home, draws flak
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Guwahati: A video of a BJP-linked political play from Assam's election campaign has sparked backlash for showing a bulldozer demolishing a Muslim family's house, with audiences laughing at scenes of their eviction and beating.
The footage, shared on social media Tuesday, features actors using a cardboard bulldozer to destroy a shed labelled as the family's home. Characters in skullcaps and dhotis—depicting Muslim men, women, and children—plead futilely as "authorities" intervene.
In one segment, a female police constable lashes family members with lathis for resisting. Another shows an officer directing the demolition while aides restrain crying children, prompting audience laughter.
The play emerged amid the NDA's landslide in the 2026 polls, winning 102 of 126 seats. BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, credited delimitation for the gains, which fragmented Muslim-majority seats by merging them with indigenous-dominated areas, diluting their vote share.
Critics highlighted the performance as reflective of minority tensions in BJP-ruled Assam.