Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday intensified his attack on Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi after a special investigation team (SIT) submitted its report into alleged links between Gogoi’s wife and Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference, Sarma described the allegations as serious and said the state cabinet had decided to request the Union Home Ministry (MHA) to hand over the probe to a central agency, citing national security concerns and the wider implications of the case. He said the process would begin once the MHA grants consent.
The case relates to allegations that Gogoi’s British wife, Elizabeth Coleburn, had links with Pakistan, including its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), while working in Islamabad under Tauqeer Sheikh, a former adviser to Pakistan’s Planning Commission. The Assam government had constituted an SIT to examine the matter and registered a case based on its preliminary findings.
Referring to the 44-page SIT report, Sarma alleged that Coleburn shared confidential documents with Sheikh and that salary transactions from a Pakistani firm, Lead Pakistan, indicated she was being “managed” from there. He further claimed that someone from the Gogoi family provided inputs and suggestions to the firm from time to time.
Sarma also raised questions over a 2013 visit by Gogoi and his wife to Pakistan, alleging that though permission was initially granted only for Lahore, they later travelled to Islamabad and Karachi. He sought an explanation from Gogoi on the matter.
Additionally, the chief minister alleged that Gogoi surrendered his minor son’s passport at the Delhi passport office in 2022 to facilitate British citizenship. He claimed that while the child’s Indian passport mentioned religion as Hindu, the religion column was left blank in the British passport. Sarma gave Gogoi 10 days to clarify his position. Justifying the move for a central probe, Sarma said the Assam government had limitations in conducting such an investigation and maintained that a deeper connection needed to be examined.
‘Super flop’: Gogoi mocks CM’s presser
Gogoi, however, dismissed the press conference as a “super flop” and “worse than C-grade cinema.” In an online post, the Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha said journalists from Delhi and Assam had to endure a “mindless and bogus” presentation. Speaking to reporters, Gogoi accused Sarma of embarrassing himself on the national stage and failing to convince journalists during the interaction.
“After the 2.5-hour press conference, he was unable to convince journalists. The question-answer was not satisfactory for the journalists. Sarma thinks that people of Assam don’t have intelligent brain, knowledge. He is a liar chief minister. He has made a mockery of the chief minister’s chair. The SIT report shows that he is worried,” Gogoi added.