KOLKATA: Trinamool MLA Humayun Kabir admitted that a video released by the party purportedly showing him seeking Rs 1,000 crore from the BJP and calling Muslims “gullible” was genuine, but the video was allegedly selectively edited based on the 51-minute recording. The admission gives the Trinamool fresh ammunition against the BJP ahead of the Bengal polls, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made comments about the TMC spreading an AI-generated clip. Kabir said: “The video is authentic but only 19 minutes of the 51-minute conversation were played. I was talking to two people – one claimed to be a sadhu from Siliguri and the other was a journalist from Delhi. I have the complete video to back up my claim.” He alleged that TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee orchestrated a sting operation and sent a man “disguised as a maharaja” and a Delhi-based journalist to trap him. The 19-minute clip, titled “Reality in Hong Kong,” has not been independently confirmed. “I will identify them and take legal action. I have six lawyers ready,” he said, adding that the recording took place on December 19, 2025, at his apartment in Berhampore. “There is no footage of me meeting any member of the BJP – not Modi, not Shah,” he said. The TMC was quick to use this remark to attack the BJP. “Why did the prime minister call it AI-generated when Kabir himself said the video was real?” asked a party cadre. CM Mamata Banerjee seized on this admission. “What you see is how a Rs 1,000-crore deal was made to divide Hindus and Muslims. The people in the video said it was true – how to cover it up now?” she asked at a rally in Bankura Onda. The controversy has taken a political toll. Within a day of the video’s exposure, AIMIM terminated its alliance with Kabir’s AUJP, saying it “cannot engage in rhetoric that questions the integrity of Muslims” and announced that it would contest the Bengal elections independently. The alliance announced a few weeks ago that AJUP is expected to contest 182 of Bengal’s 294 seats and AIMIM 17 seats.
