Only a handful of editorial pages addressed the episode head-on. The two national dailies that did said the deletion does little to blunt the damage, calling the episode emblematic of hate speech and election-season polarisation. In 2024, after the alleged gangrape of a minor in Nagaon district in August, Sarma and several ministers had labeled the incident an “attack on the indigenous”. Opposition leaders had claimed that Sarma tried to whip up communal frenzy, pointing to attacks on minority communities in Sivasagar district. The Hindu had noted that Sarma’s comments reflect a dangerous trend of politicising ethnic and religious differences for electoral gain.

Source: Indian Express February 10, 2026 14:03 UTC