# Himanta Sarma says biryani-eaters are animals, targets Congress in Nagaon 2026-10-01T19:11:33+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets (3 source reports) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on 1 October called Congress MP Rakibul Hussain an animal over his remark that God sent him to eat biryani. At a rally in Nagaon, Sarma said those born to drink mother's milk are human beings and those born to eat biryani are animals. He was campaigning for BJP candidate Devasish Sharma ahead of the 6 October bypoll. AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal joined the exchange, saying Hussain was born eating dry fish, not biryani, and questioned how a poor man could afford biryani. Sarma also targeted Congress MLA Nurul Huda over lack of development and urged Ajmal to retire. The bypoll on 6 October was necessitated after former Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi quit the party and joined the BJP. Counting is on 9 October. ## Indian Opinion Analysis India Today and its northeast edition carry near-identical straight reportage of Sarma's biryani jibe, with no editorial slant. Ajmal's fresh barb at Hussain is reported only by the northeast edition. The uniform coverage reproduces Sarma's attack and Hussain's response without commentary, leaving readers to assess the tone. Both versions close on the election dates, making the 6 October bypoll the concrete next point. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - indiatoday.in (neutral report) Straight news agency style, no slant on Sarma's remarks. - indiatodayne.in (neutral report) Reports Ajmal's attack on Hussain without commentary. - indiatodayne.in (2) (neutral report) Same wire-like coverage of Sarma's biryani remark. This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Assam, Badruddin Ajmal, BJP, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nagaon, Rakibul Hussain Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/himanta-sarma-says-biryani-eaters-are-animals-targets-congress-in-nagaon/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/himanta-sarma-says-biryani-eaters-are-animals-targets-congress-in-nagaon/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/