Guwahati, March 10 A 26-second video posted on Tuesday by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, showing a highway in Assam resembling an F1 track, has drawn criticism from netizens, with many alleging that it was created by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In response to the comments on his post on X, the chief minister retorted that it is Assam's infrastructure, not an image created by Artificial Intelligence.
The caption of the video had a red "X" (signifying wrong) next to "F1 Track," and a green tick (meaning correct) mark next to "Roads of Assam."
As engagement with the post increased throughout the day, Sarma responded in another video, "Artificial Intelligence (red X) Assam Infrastructure (green tick)."
This second video shows a convoy of cars on a road crowded with people holding BJP flags.
Many netizens posted pictures of potholed roads, claiming that these were the true picture of Assam's roads. One user also posted a newspaper report with the headline, "Assam ranks third among Indian states with the most damaged highways."
Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh also commented on the post, stating that "The CM has made a complete fool of himself and is now doubling down on his act of stupidity."
"He picks up a random clip and says it's the same road, as if people will believe it. You should go and check out the National Highway roads around the Jorhat Lok Sabha Constituency for real development. The street lights and guard rails say it all. What we need is a proactive Leader, not a 4k Reel AI CM," Singh said.
The CM's cabinet colleagues were quick to respond to the posts. Minister for Water Resources Pijush Hazarika commented that people with "a negative IQ level of Rahul (Gandhi) and Gaurav Gogoi will obviously struggle to digest the pace at which Assam’s infrastructure is transforming. That’s why they have conveniently started calling such visuals "AI-generated."
He also posted a video of a crowded street through which the BJP's Jana Ashirwad Yatra, led by Sarma, recently passed, claiming it was the same road the chief minister had posted about earlier.
"But here’s a simple question: will they now call this video AI too? For their information, this clip is from the same road, on the same day, during our Jana Ashirwad Yatra," Hazarika said.
Minister for Culture Bimal Borah also posted a video captioned "Silapathar to Jonai - National Highway at night. For yes-men, even this is AI."