GUWAHATI, Jan 1: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said he would soon place before the public evidence to substantiate his allegations that Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and his family have links with Pakistan.
Responding to a question on BJP memes referring to “Paijan”, Sarma said he was unaware of the social media content but asserted that “Gogoi and his family definitely have links with Pakistan”. The BJP has circulated AI-generated videos portraying a Gogoi lookalike as “Paijan”—a portmanteau of Pakistan and Bhaijan—while alleging connections between Gogoi, his wife and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
“He and his family are deeply connected with Pakistan. I will soon present the evidence before the people of the state,” Sarma said.
The chief minister had earlier accused Gogoi, the deputy leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and his British wife Elizabeth Colburn of having links with Pakistan’s intelligence agency. Following the allegations, a special investigation team (SIT) was constituted to probe the matter. The SIT submitted its report to Sarma on September 10 last year.
Claiming that the investigators had “unearthed startling facts which point towards a larger conspiracy aimed at undermining the sovereignty of our nation”, Sarma said the case would soon be handed over to a central agency.
Gogoi, who was appointed Assam Congress president after the allegations surfaced, has dismissed the charges, saying they resembled a “C-grade Bollywood film” and would “flop”. He added that the people of Assam “understand everything”.
