Gogoi, also the state Congress chief, termed Sarma’s presser ‘worse than a C-grade cinema’ and it is ‘super flop’.
IMAGE: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addresses a press conference in Guwahati on Sunday. Photograph: ANI Photo
Key Points
- Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma alleges Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, his wife, and a Pakistani national have a ‘deeper connection’ involving potential information leaks.
- Sarma claims FCRA rules were violated to pay Gogoi’s wife by the Pakistani national while she worked in India.
- The CM alleges Gogoi made a ‘confidential’ visit to Pakistan in 2013 and may have undergone ‘some kind of training’ there.
- Sarma asserts that Gogoi’s wife gathered information from IB sources and provided reports to the Pakistani national, raising concerns about national security.
- The Assam government will seek cancellation of OCI/VISA of Gogoi’s wife, claiming her presence is detrimental to India.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday alleged that Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, his British wife Elizabeth Colburn and Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh had a ‘deeper connection’, and that information from the Intelligence Bureau was secretly passed on to the neighbouring nation.
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati ahead of the Assembly polls, Sarma also claimed that Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) rules were violated when Colburn was paid salary by Sheikh while she was working in India.
The CM also alleged that Gogoi undertook a ‘very confidential’ visit to Pakistan in 2013 and was believed to have undergone ‘some kind of training’ there, daring the Congress leader to come clean on the trip or face charges of ‘rashtra-droh‘ (treason).
Gogoi, also the state Congress chief, termed Sarma’s presser ‘worse than a C-grade cinema’ a ‘super flop’.
The CM said, “We believe there is a deeper connection between Gogoi, Colburn and Sheikh. We believe that Colburn and Sheikh were part of an international conspiracy.”
Sarma asserted they bypassed the Indian government to work with local municipal agencies, and this cannot be probed by the Assam Police.
“So we recommended a national probe by the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he added.
Sarma claimed that Colburn had worked with LEAD Pakistan, an organisation run by Sheikh, before being transferred to India to work with the same group.
“But her salary continued to be paid by Sheikh,” he said.
LEAD Pakistan sent money to LEAD India, and the latter paid to Colburn bypasssing FCRA regulations, the CM alleged.
“Pakistani agencies cannot donate to an Indian entity as it’s an enemy nation. Probably special permission was obtained in UPA time to pay Colburn,” he added.
Sarma to seek cancellation of OCI of Gogoi’s wife
The CM claimed that after working in India, Colburn started gathering information surrounding India and used to give reports to Sheikh.
“Colburn got information from IB sources about climate action after Narendra Modi came to power. She sent a 45-page report to Sheikh,” he added.
He also alleged that Colburn travelled to Islamabad six times while working with LEAD India and visited Pakistan thrice after joining another NGO.
The chief minister claimed that direct receipt of Pakistani funds in violation of FCRA norms was not easy and suggested that there could be ‘another handler very close’ to the United Progressive Alliance government establishment.
He also alleged that Colburn had a Pakistani bank account to receive salaries there, but she did not reply during questioning if it was closed or still active.
“Gogoi, however, did not mention this Pakistani account in his election affidavit. Now, I feel his opponent should complain to the EC about giving wrong information in the affidavit,” he added.
Assam govt will seek cancellation of OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) of Colburn as her presence is detrimental to India.
Worse than a C-grade cinema, says Gogoi
While the press conference was going on, Gogoi in a post on X said, ‘I pity the journalists from Delhi and Assam who had to suffer the most flop press conference of the century. This was worse than a C grade cinema.’
‘Most mindless and bogus points’ have been offered by the ‘so-called political shrewd’ CM of Assam, he said.
‘This #SuperFlop is in contrast to our #XomoyParivartanYatra which has been a hit in uncovering the 12,000 bighas of land occupied by the Chief Minister and his family members,’ Gogoi said.
CM lost mental balance: Congress
The opposition Congress also slammed Sarma over his ‘baseless’ claims and said the CM appears to have ‘lost his mental balance’.
A battery of national and state leaders of the Congress defended Gogoi and said Sarma had ‘diminished’ the dignity of the CM’s office, and that police could not even file a first information report (FIR) against the Assam Congress chief due to lack of ‘any evidence at all’.
“The CM appeared to have lost his mental balance and had no documentary evidence to support his claims. Politics is one thing, but making baseless allegations against a respected family at a personal level is extremely reprehensible,” All India Congress Committee General Secretary (in-charge of Assam) Jitendra Singh said.
Everyone in Assam knows the contribution of former CM Tarun Gogoi to Sarma’s political rise, he added.
“After betraying Tarun Gogoi for power, the CM has now been levelling serial allegations against Gogoi for the past year. The Gogoi family treated Himanta with dignity, made him an MLA and a minister. The smear campaign he is now running against the family of a father figure is deeply unfortunate,” Singh said.
He further stated that despite forming an SIT and continuing its proceedings, the state government has been misleading the people of Assam through press conferences.
Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, described the SIT report and Sarma’s presser as a ‘flop show’ and said the CM had lowered the dignity of his own office.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora also termed the Sarma’s press conference a ‘super flop’ and said his earlier comments on the SIT had been proven correct.
“I had said the SIT has no authority to investigate such matters. Today, the CM himself admitted that the SIT formed by the Assam government could investigate only about 20 per cent of the alleged Pakistan link due to limitations. By accepting own incompetence, Sarma has now pushed the matter to the central government,” he added.
The senior Congress leader further questioned why, if the issue pertained to national security, the CM remained silent for six months after receiving the report.
“If Gogoi had travelled to Pakistan in 2013, and if the matter was so serious, why did neither the Modi government nor the investigating agencies act after 2014? Did it take 12 years to realise this?” he asked, adding that no one could be branded a ‘Pakistani agent’ without conclusive findings.
Taking a dig, Bora said Sarma had imagined detonating an ‘atom bomb’ against Gogoi, but what emerged was not even a ‘chocolate bomb’.
“Despite having an SIT, they neither filed an FIR nor a chargesheet simply because there was no evidence. In the coming days, we will address the issue in detail in a separate press conference,” he added.
All India Mahila Congress President Alka Lamba, reacting to the SIT report, accused Sarma of attempting to mislead the people of Assam with false narratives, stating that the public would deliver the appropriate verdict.
Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur said the people of Assam have been fed up with the Sarma’s theatrics.
APCC media and communications department chairman Bedabrat Bora termed the six-month delayed SIT press conference an ‘anti-climax’, stating that the dignity of the CM’s office has been severely undermined before the national media.
Gogoi surrendered his son’s Indian passport in 2022: Sarma
Sarma further said the Congress MP undertook a ‘very confidential visit’ to Pakistan in December 2013, when his wife was already posted in India, and he was staying at the CM’s residence then. His father, late Tarun Gogoi, was Assam chief minister at that time.
“He stayed there for 10 days. Strangely, Gogoi was digitally silent and no social media post was made. We suspect he went through some kind of training in that period,” Sarma said.
Sarma claimed that after returning from Pakistan and becoming an MP, Gogoi asked questions in Lok Sabha on military preparedness, security matters, defence hardware, nuclear plants, espionage, Kashmir conflict and other sensitive issues.
“A first-time MP asking such confidential questions, how can it not be linked to his Pakistan visit?” the CM questioned.
Sarma said that Gogoi surrendered his son’s Indian passport in 2022 after the minor was given British citizenship.
“Gogoi’s son used to write Hindu as religion in Indian passport, but kept the column blank after change in citizenship. His daughter writes Christianity in her British passport. Gogoi’s religion is Hindu as per his passport. So, he will always be minority in his home,” he added.
To a question, the CM said Assam Police’s SIT did not question Gogoi during its probe ‘as he is a sitting MP. We have left it to the Centre, showing some respect to his position’.
“If I arrest Gogoi now, I will be accused of doing politics before elections. Arresting is a harsh step. I feel Gogoi is the most vulnerable politician in India now, as all his movements in the 10-day stay must have been photographed and recorded in Pakistan,” Sarma said.
“If Gogoi cannot come out clean on his Pakistan stay, then charges of ‘rashtra-droh‘ (treason) will have to be imposed on him,” the CM added.
The BJP leader further said that the Sheikh visited India 13 times from 2010 to 2013 during UPA tenure and focused on ‘anti-India narrative globally’.
“After Assam Police began the probe, Sheikh deleted all tweets to protect someone,” he added.
