Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi

NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday escalated his attack on Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, alleging a “deeper connection” between Gogoi, his British wife Elizabeth Colburn and Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, and hinting at possible charges of “rashtra-droh” (treason) if the Congress leader failed to clarify his past visit to Pakistan.Addressing a press conference ahead of the assembly elections, Sarma claimed that Gogoi had undertaken a “very confidential visit” to Pakistan in December 2013 and was believed to have undergone “some kind of training” during his 10-day stay.

“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 in that period,” the chief minister said.Sarma further alleged that after returning from Pakistan and later becoming an MP, Gogoi asked questions in the Lok Sabha on military preparedness, security matters, defence hardware, nuclear plants, espionage and the Kashmir conflict. “A first-time MP asking such confidential questions, how can it not be linked to his Pakistan visit?” he asked.“If Gogoi cannot come out clean on his Pakistan stay, then charges of ‘rashtra-droh’ (treason) will have to be imposed on him,” Sarma added.Allegations over foreign linksThe chief minister also alleged that Colburn had worked with LEAD Pakistan, an organisation run by Sheikh, before moving to India, and that her salary continued to be paid by Sheikh even while she was working in the country. “But her salary continued to be paid by Sheikh,” Sarma said.He claimed that LEAD Pakistan sent money to LEAD India, which then paid Colburn “bypassing FCRA regulations”, and suggested that special permission might have been obtained during the UPA government’s tenure. “Pakistani agencies cannot donate to an Indian entity as it’s an enemy nation. Probably special permission was obtained in UPA time to pay Colburn,” he said.Sarma also alleged that Colburn gathered information from Intelligence Bureau sources related to climate action after Narendra Modi came to power and sent a “45-page report” 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 claimed.The chief minister asserted that Colburn had travelled to Islamabad six times while working with LEAD India and three more times after joining another NGO. He further alleged that she maintained a Pakistani bank account to receive salary payments and that Gogoi did not mention this in his election affidavit. “Now, I feel his opponent should complain to the EC about giving wrong information in the affidavit,” Sarma said.Sarma said the state government would seek cancellation of Colburn’s Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) status, claiming her presence was detrimental to India.“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 said. He added that the Assam Police had recommended a national-level probe by the ministry of home affairs, stating, “So we recommended a national probe by the Ministry of Home Affairs.”Congress hits backGogoi, who is also the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee chief, dismissed the press conference as politically motivated. “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,” he wrote on X while the presser was underway.He described the allegations as “Most mindless and bogus points” offered by the “so-called political shrewd” chief minister and termed the episode a “#SuperFlop”“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.Earlier in the week, responding to similar allegations linking his wife to Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI, Gogoi said, “If my wife is an ISI agent of Pakistan, I am a R&AW agent of India. I don’t mind if a family against whom there are various cases and several allegations, makes allegations against me. The (Assam) chief minister is making these allegations only to put away allegations against him.”Dismissing the charges as “lies and rumours”, he said, “Today, BJP doesn’t have any issues to raise. They are dependent on spreading lies. I feel that people of the country are very intelligent and they can see the difference between lies and truth. Let them spread rumours, we will continue to do our work.”Political backdropThe faceoff comes as Assam prepares for assembly elections, with both the BJP and the Congress sharpening their campaigns. Sarma’s remarks mark a significant escalation, introducing allegations of national security, foreign funding violations and possible treason into the electoral discourse.The BJP has framed the issue as one involving potential foreign influence and FCRA violations, while the Congress has characterised the allegations as diversionary tactics aimed at deflecting attention from state-level issues and charges against the chief minister.Sarma also said the Assam Police’s Special Investigation Team did not question Gogoi directly “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 in the 10-day stay must have been photographed and recorded in Pakistan,” he said.With the campaign intensifying, the allegations and counter-allegations have injected a sharp national security dimension into Assam’s electoral battle, setting the stage for a polarised contest in the weeks ahead.