Congress Calls Himanta’s Allegations Against Gaurav Gogoi ‘Baseless,’ Terms CM ‘Unstable’
Opposition leaders accuse Assam CM of lowering the dignity of his office; question evidence behind alleged Pakistan links.
Assam, Feb 09 : The Congress on Sunday strongly criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his allegations linking party MP Gaurav Gogoi to Pakistan, calling the charges unfounded and politically motivated. Party leaders also questioned the Chief Minister’s conduct, saying the remarks undermined the stature of his office.
A group of national and state Congress figures came out in defence of Gogoi, asserting that investigators had failed to register even a preliminary case due to the absence of credible proof. Earlier in the day, Sarma had claimed at a press conference that Gogoi, his British wife Elizabeth Colburn, and Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh shared a deeper association, and alleged that intelligence inputs had been leaked abroad.
All India Congress Committee general secretary in charge of Assam, Jitendra Singh, said the accusations lacked documentary backing and crossed the line into personal attacks. He added that political differences should not lead to what he described as defamatory assertions against a respected family.
Singh also referenced former chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s role in Sarma’s early political career, accusing the current Chief Minister of running a prolonged smear campaign despite the family’s past support. He further alleged that the state government continued to mislead the public through repeated briefings even as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe progressed.
The Assam Police had formed the SIT in February 2025 to examine social media remarks by Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh concerning Assam and India’s internal matters.
Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia characterised both the SIT findings and the Chief Minister’s media address as ineffective, while former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora argued that the state agency lacked the mandate to investigate issues tied to national security. Bora noted that Sarma himself had acknowledged limitations in the probe and subsequently referred the matter to the Centre.
He also questioned the timing of the allegations, asking why authorities had not acted earlier if the claims were serious. According to Bora, branding someone a foreign agent requires conclusive evidence, which he said had not been presented.
Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera echoed the criticism, intensifying the party’s pushback against the Chief Minister’s statements as the political confrontation in Assam sharpened.
