NEW DELHI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stepped up his attack on Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, alleging that the rival leader’s British wife has links with Pakistan.
Asserting his claims on Saturday, the BJP leader said that Gogoia’s wife Elizabeth Colburn is a former colleague of Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, an advisor of the Pakistan Planning Commission.
The relationship between Gogois and the Pakistani national appeared to be “deeply rooted,” Himanta alleged, according to news agency PTI.
The Assam CM alleged that the “network is now emerging as far more significant and deeply entrenched than initially thought”.
Himanta Biswa Sarma also shared a screenshot of Tauqqer Ali Sheikh’s old X posts to target the Congress leader and demanded clarification over the allegations of ISI links, “leading young individuals to the Pakistan embassy for brainwashing and radicalisation, and the refusal to take Indian citizenship for the past 12 years”, referring to Colburn’s nationality status.
The Assam CM also alleged that Gogoi had raised questions in Parliament on sensitive defence matters after his marriage to the British citizen, a charge termed by the opposition leader as a “false accusation”.
“Elizabeth Colburn w/o Hon’ble MP worked under Ali Tauqeer Sheikh in the organisation LEAD Pakistan, which operated under the guise of climate change initiatives,” Sarma wrote, sharing the screenshot.
He further claimed that a “closer examination” of Sheikh’s works and articles reveals a deeper and more strategic involvement, particularly in Assam.
“The extent of this network is now emerging as far more significant and deeply entrenched than initially thought,” Sarma maintained, as he tagged the Union home ministry in his post.
Himanta shared another post by Sheikh from 2020 when the Pakistan national lauded Gogoi and others for raising the Delhi riots issue in Parliament.
“Pakistan National Ali Sheikh of Lead Pakistan who is Elizabeth Colburn’s colleague and supervisor shared his anti-India propaganda and also tagged and cheered Hon’ble MP when he raised the Delhi Riots 2020 issue in Parliament. Yes, The relationships appear to be deeply rooted,” the Assam CM said.
The BJP had on Wednesday accused Gogoi’s wife of having links with Pakistan and the ISI, a charge rejected by the deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha as “laughable and entertaining”.
Gogoi on Thursday hit back at Biswa Sarma for alleging that his wife has a link with Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.
“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,” ANI quoted Gogoi saying.
Dismissing the accusation 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.”