Guwahati: Amid a raging controversy over Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s British wife Elizabeth Colburn and her alleged links with Pakistan’s ISI, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday said that Gogoi may have been “trapped or blackmailed” as part of a larger “anti-India” conspiracy.
Biswa Sarma, who had launched a scathing attack on Gogoi, said on Sunday that the matter had moved beyond politics and was now a national security concern.
Claiming that new evidence had been unearthed which pointed to external involvement, the BJP leader said that further investigation was needed.
Biswa Sarma had gone to the extent of suggesting that Colburn had refused to take Indian citizenship for 12 years, and also alleged that Gogoi raised questions on sensitive defence matters in Parliament after marrying the British woman.
Day after launching a scathing attack on Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that Gaurav Gogoi may have been “trapped or blackmailed” as part of a larger “anti-India” conspiracy,
But on Sunday, the Assam CM welcomed Gogoi’s decision to pursue legal action over the controversy and said the Assam government was also considering similar legal steps.
“In recent days, multiple reports surfaced regarding comments made by a Pakistani national that have caused communal disharmony in Assam. A closer examination of publicly available information has revealed that the individual, Ali Sheikh, has served in several advisory positions within the government of Pakistan. The Assam government views Ali Sheikh as someone attempting to interfere in the state’s domestic affairs,” Biswa Sarma said.
“Further investigations have linked Ali Sheikh to Elizabeth Gogoi, the wife of MP Gogoi. Both have been associated with several organisations, including the Global Climate Action Network, which has connections to Pakistan,” the CM said.
“We started discussing this as a political issue, but now it has escalated to a national level… We have information of an anti-India force actively working behind this. We will decide on our next steps in the cabinet meeting,” Biswa Sarma remarked.
He added that he planned to discuss the matter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and explore coordination between the state government and central agencies.
“Now it looks like Gaurav Gogoi is just an actor in this entire system; he is not the director. Maybe, he has been trapped. So, we will examine the matter with a sympathetic outlook. The way London, America, and Islamabad are involved, he may be blackmailed. Therefore, the entire issue requires serious investigation,” Biswa Sarma elaborated.
Gogoi dismissed the charge against his wife as false.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also firmly rejected Biswa Sarma’s earlier allegations, calling them “character assassination of the worst type.”
“The Assam CM and BJP have launched an atrocious smear campaign against my colleague @GauravGogoiAsm. Legal action is being taken immediately,” Ramesh posted on X.
He claimed that BJP’s attack was driven by Gogoi’s victory in Jorhat Lok Sabha seat last year despite heavy campaigning against him by the Assam CM and other top leaders.
