Himanta's claims ludicrous, says Gogoi. Wait till September 10, says CM

NEW DELHI/GUWAHATI: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and newly appointed Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi continued to skirmish on Wednesday over the former's charge that his opponent had quietly visited Pakistan.

While Gogoi said the CM's "ludicrous and ridiculous" allegations were part of an unsuccessful political plot to sow seeds of doubt in the mind of Congress brass and discourage them from appointing him the state unit chief, Sarma claimed his charge had been validated with the Congress neta finally "admitting" that he had visited Pakistan. CM also said Gogoi had been economical with facts and police would soon bring out the full truth.

Addressing a press conference, Gogoi said his wife, "a well-known expert in public policy", worked on an international project in south Asia on climate change, and spent a year in Pakistan before returning to India around 2012-13. She later took up a new job in 2015 and he too went to Pakistan once in 2013. He said the people of Assam had known these facts during the 11-year term of BJP-led Centre, which conducts background checks on opposition members, especially those like him who speak freely in Parliament.

Sarma took to X to say Gogoi's "admission" that he did travel to Pakistan was just the tip of the iceberg of his links with the enemy country and his govt would reveal the full story through its investigative report on Sept 10. "Today he admitted (going to Pakistan) because he knows Sept 10 is approaching. But he has made a very false statement (that he went to visit his wife). It was an independent visit, approved by the Interior Department of Pakistan," he said. "What I will reveal on Sept 10 will make Rahul Gandhi regret appointing such a person to a leadership role," Sarma said, adding, "There are serious national security concerns at stake..."

Gogoi said, "The CM has said he will make revelations on Sept 10. Is this a movie? This is a sensitive issue and he should reveal now what he has. BJP 's job is defamation and they are creating this whole thing like a C-grade Bollywood movie which will flop miserably."

Sarma had written, "This is just the beginning, not the end. What lies ahead is far more serious. There exists every reasonable ground, supported by credible inputs and documented information, to suggest that Shri Gogoi has maintained proximity with the Pakistani establishment." He also alleged Gogoi's British wife was "snooping on our IB" on behalf of a climate activist group "and I have documents to prove that".

Gogoi alleged the CM's "smear campaign" is a tactic to cover up the activities of his own family, adding he has amassed huge wealth and property through his family, which heads 17 companies and gets benefits of govt contracts. He further said illegal coal and drugs had emerged as the "biggest diseases" of northeast under BJP's patronage, and the reality of the region was far from the claims made during the "rising North East summit", which was addressed by PM Narendra Modi.