Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday doubled down on his allegations that newly appointed state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and his British wife have maintained close ties with Pakistani agencies.
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Sarma said Gogoi’s wife Elizabeth Colburn was collecting various intelligence documents on behalf of the Pakistani climate lobby.
"His wife monitored IB documents and quoted those. That means she must have someone in the IB. It is a very very serious allegation. I have documents to prove that his wife Elizabeth Colburn was involved in collecting various intelligence reports," the CM asserted.
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He further called Gogoi a Pakistan agent and said the Congress leader and his wife maintained their relationship with Pakistan till around 2017-18.
However, dismissing the allegations, Gogoi said he had gone to Pakistan only once 12 years ago and that the BJP was raking up the issue like a "C-grade Bollywood movie" that is going to "flop miserably".
He also asked why the BJP government at the Centre had not acted for the last 11 years if there was any wrongdoing.
"Allegations are made and I would like to clarify that people of the state are not misled. About 14-15 years ago, my wife, who is a well-known expert in public policy, worked on an international project in South Asia focused on climate change. She spent one year in Pakistan before returning to India around 2012-13," Gogoi said.
"Since then, she has continued her work and took a new job in 2015. I also remember going with her once in 2013. Their (the BJP's) job is defamation and by raking this issue they are creating this whole thing like a C-grade Bollywood movie which they have said would be released on September 10. But that is going to be a flop miserably," he said.
Responding to Gogoi’s statements, Sarma said there are credible inputs suggesting Gogoi's "proximity" with the Pakistani establishment.
"Finally, Congress MP Shri Gaurav Gogoi has admitted that he visited Pakistan. But let us be very clear -- this is just the beginning, not the end. What lies ahead is far more serious. There exists every reasonable ground, supported by credible inputs and documented information, to suggest that Shri Gogoi has maintained proximity with the Pakistani establishment," Sarma posted on X.
