‘My wife visited Pak for work-related purpose’: Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Assam CM Himanta Sarma’s allegations | India News
New Delhi: Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi on Monday disowned the Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa SharmaClaiming to link him to Pakistan, the SIT report sat with the chief minister for six months as there was no evidence. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Gogoi said his wife, Elizabeth Colburn, had visited Pakistan in 2013 for work-related purposes, accompanied him on a 10-day visit and was never questioned for it.“He went to such a low level that he even revealed information about my children. We also know about his children; everyone knows, but we don’t want to reveal. He has proved that he is not the right person to be in the chief minister’s chair. What they are saying has shamed Assam. Why are they spreading false information? The Supreme Court should take up a sua motu case against it,” the Congress leader said, adding that he would look into legal action against Sarma for his comments against his children.Gogoi demanded publication of the SIT report to prove his innocence. “From the beginning I have been saying that I will not go against the SIT probe. I want the SIT to release the report. Chief Minister Chanakya is not.”Commenting on the timing of Sarma’s press conference, Gogoi said, “The main story behind yesterday’s lengthy press conference is the growing popularity of the Congress party… If it is a matter of national security, why has he been sitting idle for the last six months?… The Chief Minister was forced to hold a press conference after the Congress party disclosed that 12,000 CM families owned large land.”Gogoi accused Sarma of “inciting genocide” against Muslims through his social media videos.Also Read | Pakistani firm hired Gogoi’s wife, paid Ali Sheikh: Himanta’s major allegation against Congress MPOn Sunday, CM Sarma accused Gogoi that his British wife Elizabeth Colburn and Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh shared a “deep connection” and claimed that Intelligence Bureau information was secretly sent to Pakistan. He also alleged that Gogoi had made a “very secret” visit to Pakistan in 2013 and was believed to have undergone “some sort of training” to dare the Congress leader to face charges of “Rashtradroh” (sedition).Sarma also claimed that Colburn had worked with LEAD Pakistan, an organization run by Sheikh, before he moved to India and that he had received salary from Sheikh, bypassing Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) rules. He said that after working in India, he collected information and provided reports to Sheikh and that Gogoi failed to declare his Pakistani bank account in his election affidavit.
