BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia's allegations that Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi's British wife Elizabeth Coleburn had an ISI link has triggered a controversy, with the Congress leader terming the allegations "laughable".
Bhatia's allegations that Coleburn had ties with the Pakistani intelligence agency while she worked with the Climate and Knowledge Development Network (CDKN) in Islamabad under Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, a former advisor to the Planning Commission of Pakistan, created a stir after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa pitched in with indirect reference to her British citizenship.
📌Very disturbing and serious facts have come to light that the Deputy Leader of Opposition, Gaurav Gogoi and his wife have links with Pakistan and the ISI.
— Gaurav Bhatia गौरव à¤à¤¾à¤Ÿà¤¿à¤¯à¤¾ 🇮🇳 (@gauravbhatiabjp) February 12, 2025
📌I am saying this with some responsibility that Gaurav Gogoi's wife Elizabeth Colburn, has links with Tauqir Sheikh who… pic.twitter.com/m9nNG1YV5c
However, Gogoi reacted sarcastically to the statement, with a movie reference. "If Salman Khan's wife can be an ISI agent like in 'Tiger Zinda Hai', then I must be a RAW agent too," Gogoi said.Â
However, the controversy has put the spotlight on Colebourn, who continues to keep her British citizenship even after 12 years in India.
Who is Elizabeth Coleburn
Gogoi met Coleburn when they were doing an internship together at the Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Secretariat in 2010, according to reports.
Gogoi, son of the former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, married Coleburn in 2013 in New Delhi after convincing his family which had apprehensions regarding the union. The couple has two children, a son and a daughter.
It was from March 2011 to January 2015 she worked with the Climate Development and Knowledge Network (CDKN) and was stationed mostly in Pakistan. Her work profile includes coordination of country programmes in India and Nepal and leading CDKN's knowledge management work.
A graduate of the London School of Economics, she now works for Oxford Policy Management, which deals with climate issues.
However, it is her allegedly work with US Senator Tom Udall, who had a strong relationship with George Soros, that irks the BJP. Udall was a member of the US SenateIntelligence Committeee and had adopted a pro-Pakistan stance throughout his career.
