‘Gaurav Gogoi Can Contest In Pakistan’: Himanta Sarma Asserts BJP's Victory In Assam Polls

Last Updated:November 19, 2025, 20:47 IST

The Assam Chief Minister has repeatedly targeted Gogoi and his wife, Elizabeth Coulburn, in the past over alleged links with Pakistan.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi | File Image

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday took a jibe at Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, saying that the latter would “hundred per cent lose" the upcoming Assam state assembly elections, and after losing, he can contest elections in Pakistan.

While speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Chamata in Nalbari district, the Chief Minister asserted that the BJP will sweep the assembly polls in Assam next year, news agency PTI reported.

While responding to Gogoi’s earlier comments on the political climate in the state that the situation in the Northeastern state was different from Bihar, where the BJP-led NDA registered a landslide victory in the recently concluded assembly polls, Sarma said, “Assam is Assam and we will make a clean sweep in the assembly elections. He (Gogoi) will hundred per cent lose the polls in Assam, and then he can contest the elections in Pakistan."

He further accused the Congress of “doing politics" over legendary Assamese singer Zubeen Garg’s death to “protect Miyas (Muslims)".

“When Zubeen was alive, they (Congress) were not concerned about him. The Congress began speaking about him after his death, to save the ‘Miyas’," he claimed.

“Have Muslims put up Zubeen’s photograph in any mosque? But, Hindus have honoured him at Durga Puja pandals and other festivals, including the just-concluded Ras Mahotsav. People are now realising the truth. There is no point in fighting us on these issues, as we have the moral courage to tell the truth. We do not do politics with emotion but with hard work," Sarma said.

He alleged that the Congress was doing politics over Garg’s death so that they can “protect" ‘Miyas’ and the state government do not evict them from encroached lands. The opposition has been claiming that the BJP government under Sarma, accused of pursuing divisive politics by specifically targeting ‘Miyas’ — a pejorative for Bengali-speaking Muslims — through eviction drives, found itself on the back foot as people began to unite across communities.

The Assam Chief Minister has repeatedly targeted Gogoi and his wife, Elizabeth Coulburn, in the past over alleged links with Pakistan. In September, Sarma claimed that the SIT probing the alleged Pakistani links of the Gogoi family had uncovered “startling facts" suggesting a larger conspiracy to “undermine India’s sovereignty."

Gogoi, the Deputy Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, had earlier claimed that the allegations levelled by the CM were like a “C-grade Bollywood film", which is going to flop as the people of Assam understand everything.

Asked about the Chief Minister’s self-set deadline of September 10 to reveal the “evidence", Gogoi said, “If someone thinks that I don’t have the documents to show, let me tell them… I will do what needs to be done." Sarma also said Gogoi was welcome to file a defamation case if the allegations were false.

Earlier in February, Sarma had raised questions about a meeting Gaurav Gogoi held 10 years ago with the then Pakistan High Commissioner to India. The state government had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the alleged interference of Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, who is claimed to have links with Gogoi’s British wife Elizabeth Colburn, in India’s internal affairs.

The SIT, led by Special DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta, had formally submitted its report to the Chief Minister on September 10.

Gogoi, however, has vehemently dismissed the allegations against him and his wife. The Congress MP had asked Sarma to provide evidence for the allegations he was levelling.

The saffron camp had further alleged that Gogoi had visited the Pakistan High Commission after he was elected to Lok Sabha in the 2014 elections without seeking permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker, Home Ministry and other related ministries. After his visit, Gogoi’s organisation ’Policy for Youth’ wrote an article in a newspaper accusing BSF personnel of misbehaving with “illegal women Bangladeshi intruders".

Elizabeth Gogoi, born Elizabeth Colebourn in the UK, holds a Master’s degree in Political Economy from the London School of Economics (LSE) and married Gaurav Gogoi in 2013.

(With inputs from agencies)

News politics ‘Gaurav Gogoi Can Contest In Pakistan’: Himanta Sarma Asserts BJP's Victory In Assam Polls

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