sarma-repeats-claim-gogoi-is-a-100-pakistani-agent

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday renewed his attack on state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, reiterating his allegation that the opposition leader is a “100 per cent Pakistani agent”, two days after Gogoi had termed him “unfit” to lead the government.

 

Speaking to reporters in Tezpur, Sarma doubled down on his earlier remarks and said he would welcome any legal action taken by the Congress MP. “Yes, 100 per cent,” he said when asked about Gogoi’s purported links to Pakistani agencies. “People drink milk after mixing some water. Gaurav Gogoi's link with Pakistani agents does not have a little water, it's 100 per cent milk. That means whatever I have said is 100 per cent correct.”

 

Sarma had first levelled the accusation on October 31, prompting a sharp response from Gogoi, who said the remarks showed the chief minister was “unfit” to hold office. The CM’s remarks triggered a political row, with Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia publicly urging Gogoi to file a defamation case.

 

Sarma said he would be “happy” if the Congress leader took the matter to court. “Even if he does not, we will make public Gaurav Gogoi's activities after filing the charge sheet in the Zubeen Garg case,” he added, referring to the ongoing investigation into the death of the singer.

 

Also read: Assam CM seeks Bhutan rail link, new Amrit Bharat trains

 

The BJP government in Assam has been targeting Gogoi over his wife Elizabeth Colburn’s alleged connections with Pakistan’s ISI. Sarma has claimed that Colburn, a British national, travelled between India and Pakistan 19 times, and accused her of collecting “classified government documents, mainly IB reports”, for what he termed a “Pakistani climate lobby”.

 

He further alleged that Gogoi had travelled to Pakistan on an invitation from the ISI, “undergone training”, and maintained close links with the establishment in the neighbouring country.

 

Gogoi has categorically denied the allegations, calling them “ridiculous, baseless, insane and nonsense”. He has also accused the chief minister of behaving like an “IT cell troll”, and questioned his “mental state due to issues at the home front”, escalating the war of words between the two leaders.

 

The exchange comes at a time of heightened political temperature in the state ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections, with the ruling BJP and the Congress sharpening their attacks on each other.