Political debate erupts in Assam over CM’s Pak link allegations on Gaurav Gogoi

Guwahati, Feb 8: A war of words has erupted in Assam after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma levelled serious allegations of “Pakistan links” against State Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi, triggering sharp reactions from Opposition parties and counter-mobilisation by the ruling BJP.

Opposition leaders have questioned both the substance and intent of the allegations, asking why no legal action had been initiated if the claims were as serious as portrayed.

Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi said that if the Chief Minister truly believed Gaurav Gogoi to be a Pakistani agent, it would amount to an accusation of treason.

“Then why is he not arrested yet?” Akhil Gogoi asked, addressing the press on Sunday evening. He also questioned whether the press conference on the SIT report was “serious business or political drama”.

Referring to previous arrests in the State, Akhil Gogoi added, “If the Assam government can arrest people for writing poetry or for asking questions about Pakistani terror attacks on social media, why doesn’t the Chief Minister, who claims to have evidence, arrest a Pakistani agent?”

Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) president Lurinjyoti Gogoi said Sarma had failed to substantiate his claims during the press meet and accused him of dragging the police into political battles.

“The political use of the police will severely damage its credibility and erode public trust,” he said, warning of long-term consequences for the integrity of law enforcement institutions in the State.

The ruling BJP responded by demanding an apology from Gaurav Gogoi for what it termed “anti-India activities”.

The party said the allegations raised by the Chief Minister were detrimental to national interests and damaging to public trust, and called on the Congress leader to clarify his position.

As part of its response, the Assam BJP organised protests across all 39 organisational districts of the State following Sarma’s press conference.

Addressing a demonstration in Dibrugarh, Assam BJP president and MP Dilip Saikia said the allegations must be examined with utmost seriousness and called for a comprehensive investigation with the direct involvement of the Government of India.

“Unless Gaurav Gogoi apologises to 140 crore Indians, we will consider him a traitor and anti-national,” Saikia said.

Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal also weighed in, describing the allegations of anti-national activities against Gaurav Gogoi as “highly condemnable”.

He said Gogoi must prove his innocence and asserted that any individual involved in conspiracies against the nation deserved condemnation. “The Government of India will not forgive any force that acts against the country,” Sonowal said.

The Congress has not yet issued a detailed response to the allegations, as the political temperature in Assam continues to rise over the issue.

The controversy followed a press conference by Sarma that ran for over two hours on Sunday, during which he cited what he described as findings of an Assam Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) and raised what he called a “grave national security issue”.

The Chief Minister alleged that Gogoi, his British wife Elizabeth Colburn and Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh shared a “deeper connection”, and claimed that Intelligence Bureau inputs were clandestinely passed on to Pakistan.

PTI