GUWAHATI, Feb 13: Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma today continued his tirade against Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, a day after he — without naming the Jorhat Lok Sabha MP directly — questioned the alleged ISI links of his British wife Elizabeth Colburn and her not taking up Indian citizenship despite entering into wedlock 13 years ago.
The Assam Chief Minister took to social media yet again, and this time raised a meeting between Gaurav Gogoi and Pakistan’s Ambassador to India Abdul Basit in 2015.
Chief Minister Dr Sarma questioned as to why the first-time MP (read Gaurav Gogoi) met the Pakistani envoy with 50-60 other Indian youths, particularly when India had lodged an official protest against “the Pakistani High Commission’s interference in internal matters, particularly its involvement with the Hurriyat Conference”.
He also claimed that the Congress MP and his start-up named Policy for Youth, in an article published in ‘The Hindu’, criticised “the Border Security Force’s handling of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants”.
Dr Sarma once again raised the alleged ISI links of Gogoi’s wife Elizabeth in the post, while questioning the timing of the events saying it “adds another layer of intrigue to the MP’s evolving political stance and actions”.
“In 2015, the Pakistani High Commissioner to India, Mr. Abdul Basit, invited a first-term Member of Parliament (MP) and his startup, Policy for Youth, to discuss India-Pakistan relations at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. Notably, this MP was not a member of the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs at the time, raising questions about the intent behind his engagement. This visit occurred despite India’s official protest against the Pakistani High Commission’s interference in internal matters, particularly its involvement with the Hurriyat Conference. Ignoring these concerns, the MP took 50 to 60 young Indians to meet Pakistani officials.
Soon after, his startup published an article in The Hindu criticizing the Border Security Force’s handling of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. A closer examination of his parliamentary questions revealed a growing focus on sensitive defense matters, including inquiries about Coast Guard radar installations, India’s arms factories, aeronautical defense, transit routes for trade with Iran, Kashmiri students, and alleged attacks on churches—marking a noticeable shift in his areas of interest.
Interestingly, these developments occurred immediately after his marriage to a British citizen with a professional background that raises further questions. Before their marriage, she had worked for an American senator known for close ties with the Pakistani establishment and later spent time in Pakistan, employed by an organization widely believed to be a front for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The timing of these events adds another layer of intrigue to the MP’s evolving political stance and actions,” Chief Minister Dr Sarma wrote on ‘X’.
“Such a high-level interaction with the ambassador of an adversarial nation requires MEA approval and a post-meeting debriefing. Hope the Hon’ble MP complied with these requirements, as national security must always take precedence over politics,” Chief Minister Dr Sarma wrote in another post, attaching a photograph of Gaurav Gogoi sitting with Pakistani envoy Abdul Basit at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
In a more recent post on ‘X’, Chief Minister Dr Sarma questioned as to why Gaurav Gogoi, after his meeting with the Pakistani envoy, sought answers from the government on detailed information on coastal radar stations, including their specifications and costs.
“Why would an MP from Assam—a landlocked state—seek classified details on coastal radar systems?
What was the necessity of putting such sensitive information in the public domain?
Why was this inquiry made shortly after the MP’s meeting with the Pakistani High Commissioner?
Given the national security implications, can this be dismissed as a mere coincidence incidence?” Chief Minister Sarma questioned.
It remains to be seen as to whether the Congress MP can put any credible answers to the questions raised by the Assam Chief Minister, particularly considering the implications it has on national security.
