Visited Pakistan in 2013 for wife's work, SIT never questioned me: Gaurav Gogoi

The Congress leader accused Sarma of sitting on the SIT report for six months despite repeatedly claiming to possess evidence of Gogoi’s alleged “Pakistan links”.

• Gaurav Gogoi denies Assam CM's Pakistan link claims, calls them political.
• Gogoi says SIT never questioned him, demands SIT report be made public
• Congress accuses Assam CM of inciting hatred, calls it election propaganda.

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Assam Congress president and Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi, on Monday, strongly rejected Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s allegations linking him and his family to Pakistan, asserting that his 2013 visit to the neighbouring country was purely personal and work-related for his wife.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Gogoi said his wife had travelled to Pakistan for professional reasons in 2013 and that he had accompanied her for around 10 days. He stressed that the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Assam government to probe the matter, had never questioned him about the visit.

“The SIT has not asked me a single question about my 2013 visit to Pakistan. The allegations being made now are politically motivated and aimed at diverting attention from real issues,” Gogoi told reporters.

The Congress leader accused Sarma of sitting on the SIT report for six months despite repeatedly claiming to possess evidence of Gogoi’s alleged “Pakistan links”.

“If this was a matter of national security, why did the Chief Minister remain silent for six months? It is because the SIT could not produce any evidence,” he said, demanding that the report be made public.

Gogoi also launched a sharp attack on Sarma over a now-deleted video allegedly shared by the state BJP on social media, claiming it incited hatred against Muslims. The video purportedly showed the Chief Minister aiming a rifle at two individuals, one wearing a skull cap and another with a beard.

“The Assam CM is inciting genocide against Muslims through his videos. Police must take suo motu cognisance of such acts that target a particular community and threaten social harmony,” Gogoi said.

He further objected to Sarma publicly disclosing details about his minor children and said he was exploring legal options. “By dragging my children into this controversy, the Chief Minister has shown he is unfit to hold constitutional office. We know about his family too, but we don’t disclose such details,” Gogoi said, urging the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter.

The Congress MP alleged that the controversy was being raised to deflect attention from accusations that the Chief Minister’s family illegally holds around 12,000 bighas of land across Assam.

Supporting Gogoi, Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi dismissed Sarma’s press conference as “propaganda” ahead of the Assembly elections. “This is cinema being created just before polls. Visiting Pakistan is not a crime—LK Advani went there in 2005 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lahore in 2015,” Bordoloi said.

Earlier, Sarma had claimed that Gogoi’s British wife, Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi, worked in Pakistan between 2011 and 2012 and alleged close links between the family and a Pakistani national. The Chief Minister said the state cabinet had decided to hand over the matter to a central agency for further investigation.