Guwahati: A day after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accused him of being a “Pakistani agent”, Assam Congress president and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi on Monday hit back sharply, releasing photographs of the Chief Minister with a Bangladeshi Muslim cleric and mounting a point-by-point rebuttal of the allegations. Addressing a packed press conference in Guwahati, Gogoi displayed photographs showing Sarma with a Maulvi during a visit to Bangladesh and asked the Chief Minister to explain when and why the images were taken. “The Chief Minister has visited Bangladesh around 10 times. I went to Pakistan only once,” Gogoi said, adding that journalists should seek answers directly from Sarma.Accusing the Chief Minister of “opportunistic religious posturing” for political survival, Gogoi said that while his own photograph wearing a skullcap was made viral to raise suspicion, similar photographs of the Chief Minister were conveniently ignored. “If my photo can be circulated, why not the Chief Minister’s?” he asked.
Terming the Chief Minister’s February 8 press conference a “flop show”, Gogoi said Sarma had held on to the SIT report for six months and staged a media spectacle only after realising that the allegations could not be backed by evidence. “I have placed all facts before the people of Assam and the media. Let them judge,” he said.
With MPs Pradyut Bordoloi and Rakibul Hussain seated beside him, Gogoi patiently answered questions from journalists, saying he wanted to clear every doubt in the minds of the people of Assam and the country. But Gogoi declined to comment on the serious issues raised by CM Sarma during SIT press meet including when did & where he met Ali Tauqeer Sheikh? His visit to Pakistan and digitally absent during the period. How his wife connected with Pakistan and Gogoi said that his wife Elizabeth Colbern Gogoi sent 45 pages report to her head office on the basis of newspaper reports only. Gogoi said that during his Pakistan visit he even visted India’s ancient knowledge centre Taxila.
After Gogoi’s announcement in the press meet that he went to Taxila Assam CM Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma again attacked Gogoi that Taxila is in Rawalpindi and Gogoi’s visa was only Lahore and later on extended to Islamabad and Karach. For a Indian civilian who falicitated Taxila visit as it is near Pakistan Army’s Head Quarter Rawalpindi only.He questioned why, despite serious allegations and threats to his life, he had not been provided police security normally extended to PCC presidents. He said well-wishers had advised him to move cautiously.Gogoi alleged that the controversy was being manufactured due to the growing popularity of the Congress. He questioned why the Chief Minister remained silent for six months on a report that was supposedly linked to national security. “If it was such a grave threat, why was no action taken earlier?” he asked.He further alleged that false accusations were being used to divert attention from issues such as large tracts of land allegedly linked to the Chief Minister’s family and land handed over to major corporate groups. Calling the allegations a “super flop”, Gogoi said even public opinion had rejected the narrative.Reacting strongly to comments made about his children, Gogoi said the Chief Minister had crossed all limits by dragging his five-year-old and nine-year-old into politics. Congress MP Rakibul Hussain said the party would consider legal action over the disclosure of information related to minor children.Clarifying his Pakistan visit, Gogoi reiterated that he travelled in late 2013 through full legal procedures with his wife, who was then working with an international organisation. He said the Central Government was fully aware of the visit and that he had submitted his passport to the Modi government before being issued a new diplomatic passport in 2014. Also Watch:
Rejecting claims that he compromised national security by raising questions in Parliament, Gogoi said it was the duty of an MP to raise issues of national importance. “If the Lok Sabha Secretariat accepted my questions and the government answered them, they were valid,” he said, adding that the Chief Minister lacked understanding of parliamentary procedures.He urged the Chief Minister to focus on Assam’s real challenges—land rights, Scheduled Tribes’ status, drugs, closure of government schools, and alleged land and governance scams—instead of targeting individuals and families.MP Pradyut Bordoloi termed the allegations “frivolous talk” aimed at misleading voters, while Rakibul Hussain said the charges had turned into “magic tricks” that failed to stand scrutiny.Former APCC president Bhupen Kumar Bora described Gogoi’s press conference as an “anti-ballistic missile” that neutralised the Chief Minister’s claims within 24 hours, and said the political battle for the 2026 Assembly elections had effectively begun.