Assam CM raises espionage claims against Gaurav Gogoi
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma alleged that Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, his wife and a Pakistani national had deeper links and violated FCRA norms. Gogoi dismissed the claims as baseless and politically motivated
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday alleged that Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, his British wife Elizabeth Colburn and Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh had a “deeper connection”, and that information from the Intelligence Bureau was secretly passed on to the neighbouring nation.
Addressing a press conference here ahead of the Assembly polls, Sarma also claimed that Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) rules were violated when Colburn was paid a salary by Sheikh while she was working in India.
The CM also alleged that Gogoi undertook a “very confidential” visit to Pakistan in 2013 and was believed to have undergone “some kind of training” there, daring the Congress leader to come clean on the trip or face charges of “rashtra-droh” (treason).
Gogoi, also the state Congress chief, termed Sarma’s presser “worse than a C-grade cinema” and a “super flop”.
The CM said, “We believe there is a deeper connection between Gogoi, Colburn and Sheikh. We believe that Colburn and Sheikh were part of an international conspiracy.” Sarma asserted that they bypassed the Indian government to work with local municipal agencies, and this cannot be probed by the Assam Police. “So, we recommended a national probe by the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he added.
Sarma claimed that Colburn had worked with LEAD Pakistan, an organisation run by Sheikh, before being transferred to India to work with the same group. “But her salary continued to be paid by Sheikh,” he said.
LEAD Pakistan sent money to LEAD India, and the latter paid Colburn, bypassing FCRA regulations, the CM alleged.
“Pakistani agencies cannot donate to an Indian entity as it is an enemy nation. Probably special permission was obtained during the UPA period to pay Colburn,” he added.
The CM claimed that after working in India, Colburn started gathering information related to India and used to give reports to Sheikh.
“Colburn got information from IB sources about climate action after Narendra Modi came to power. She sent a 45-page report to Sheikh,” he added.
He also alleged that Colburn travelled to Islamabad six times while working with LEAD India and visited Pakistan thrice after joining another NGO.
The chief minister claimed that direct receipt of Pakistani funds in violation of FCRA norms was not easy and suggested that there could be “another handler very close” to the UPA government establishment.
He also alleged that Colburn had a Pakistani bank account to receive salaries there, but she did not reply during questioning on whether it was closed or still active.
“Gogoi, however, did not mention this Pakistani account in his election affidavit. Now, I feel his opponent should complain to the EC about giving wrong information in the affidavit,” he added.
The Assam government will seek cancellation of OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) of Colburn as her presence is detrimental to India.
While the press conference was going on, Gogoi, in a post on X, said, “I pity the journalists from Delhi and Assam who had to suffer the most flop press conference of the century. This was worse than a C-grade cinema.”
“Most mindless and bogus points” have been offered by the “so-called political shrewd” CM of Assam, he said.
“This #SuperFlop is in contrast to our #XomoyParivartanYatra which has been a hit in uncovering the 12,000 bighas of land occupied by the Chief Minister and his family members,” Gogoi said.
Sarma further said the Congress MP undertook a “very confidential visit” to Pakistan in December 2013, when his wife was already posted in India, and he was staying at the CM’s residence then. His father, late Tarun Gogoi, was Assam chief minister at that time.
“He stayed there for 10 days. Strangely, Gogoi was digitally silent and no social media post was made. We suspect he went through some kind of training during that period,” Sarma said.
Sarma claimed that after returning from Pakistan and becoming an MP, Gogoi asked questions in the Lok Sabha on military preparedness, security matters, defence hardware, nuclear plants, espionage, Kashmir conflict and other sensitive issues.
“A first-time MP asking such confidential questions, how can it not be linked to his Pakistan visit?” the CM questioned.
Sarma said that Gogoi surrendered his son’s Indian passport in 2022 after the minor was given British citizenship.
“Gogoi’s son used to write Hindu as religion in his Indian passport, but kept the column blank after a change in citizenship. His daughter writes Christianity in her British passport. Gogoi’s religion is Hindu as per his passport. So, he will always be a minority in his home,” he added.
To a question, the CM said Assam Police’s SIT did not question Gogoi during its probe “as he is a sitting MP. We have left it to the Centre, showing some respect to his position”.
“If I arrest Gogoi now, I will be accused of doing politics before elections. Arresting is a harsh step. I feel Gogoi is the most vulnerable politician in India now, as all his movements during the 10-day stay must have been photographed and recorded in Pakistan,” Sarma said.
“If Gogoi cannot come out clean on his Pakistan stay, then charges of ‘rashtra-droh’ (treason) will have to be imposed on him,” the CM added.
The BJP leader further said that Sheikh visited India 13 times from 2010 to 2013 during the UPA tenure and focused on an “anti-India narrative globally”.
“After Assam Police began the probe, Sheikh deleted all tweets to protect someone,” he added.
