Guwahati, Feb 16: Appearing to soften his stand against Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi over the controversy surrounding the Congress leader’s British wife, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday suggested that the opposition leader may have been “trapped or blackmailed” as part of a larger “anti-India” conspiracy.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event, Sarma expressed sympathy for Gogoi, saying the matter had gone beyond politics with the emergence of new evidence and was now solely related to national security.
Earlier in the day, the BJP leader welcomed the Congress MP’s planned legal case over the controversy related to his wife Elizabeth Colburn’s alleged ISI links, saying the state government was also mulling a similar step.
“We started discussing this topic about a parliamentarian, but now it has escalated to a much higher level. It is no longer related to Gaurav Gogoi. Now, we have proof or information of an anti-India force actively working behind this. We will decide in today’s cabinet,” Sarma told reporters here.
The CM said when he meets Union Home Minister Amit Shah the next time, he will discuss how the state government’s proactiveness can be synergised with central agencies.
“Now it looks like Gaurav Gogoi is just an actor in the entire system, he is not the director. Maybe, he is trapped unintentionally. So, we will examine the matter with a sympathetic outlook. We don’t want to accuse him at this moment.
“The way London, America and Islamabad are involved, he may be blackmailed also, who knows about it? Therefore, the entire subject requires serious deep investigation,” Sarma added.
Asked about Gogoi’s Facebook letter to Colburn and her singing of Bihu songs wearing traditional Assamese attire, the CM said even tourists coming to Kaziranga National Park would sing a Bihu song if the person is made to wear Mekhela-Chador (women’s traditional dress).
“I have sympathy for Gogoi. Someone must have trapped him. Initially, I thought that he probably committed it. But when I learnt about the entire picture where some big names are involved, I have developed sympathy that he has been trapped,” he asserted.
“I will submit all the documents to Assam Congress chief Bhupen Borah as well, so that they can verify the facts themselves. Perhaps, the Congress is unaware of the full picture,” Sarma said.
He added, “When the case is investigated, I will write a letter to Borah to inform him about the background and the reasons behind our decision to pursue the matter.”
“The letter I will give to the Prime Minister and Home Minister will also be given to INC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Borah. This is a matter of national security,” he asserted.
Last week, Sarma targeted Gogoi over the issue, demanding answers regarding 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.
He had also alleged that Gogoi had raised questions in Parliament on sensitive defence matters after his marriage with the British citizen, a charge termed by the opposition leader as “false accusation”.
Without elaborating, Sarma claimed that Gogoi’s father and former CM Tarun Gogoi also opposed many things.
“I don’t want to say personal things, but Gogoi in an interview opposed this system. He was also a senior politician and could understand a lot of things. I feel we should look at the implications of the entire subject.
“What was the point of a Pakistani minister tweeting about Assam’s foreigners issue? And what was the logic of tagging that tweet to one person from Assam? When I researched about the person, I found that he is a key person of ISI,” the Assam CM asserted.
Referring to a picture of Gogoi with a former Pakistani diplomat, Sarma said while Gogoi himself admitted to visiting the Pakistan embassy, his supporters claimed that the photograph was morphed.
Earlier in the day, Sarma responded to a post by Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on the issue and reminded the opposition party of the “humiliating defeat it has faced since 2014”.
Gogoi on Friday said the BJP took extreme steps to defame him and his family and asserted that he would take appropriate legal action.
Ramesh in his post referred to the assembly polls in the state in early 2026 and asserted that in about 12 months, the people of Assam will make him a former CM and make his party sit in the opposition.
“Who will be the former and present CM will be decided by Assam’s people — not by you. I do not wish to remind you of the humiliating defeat Congress has faced since 2014,” Sarma said.
Stepping up the attack on Gogoi, the BJP leader on Saturday said a police case was likely to be registered and a Special Investigation Team be constituted to probe the allegations of Pakistan links of Gogoi’s wife.
Responding to these allegations, Ramesh on Sunday said: “The Assam CM and the BJP have begun an atrocious smear campaign targeting my colleague @GauravGogoiAsm. This is character assassination of the worst type. Legal action is being initiated right away.” (PTI)
