'Situation Similar To Sonia Gandhi': BJP Questions Gaurav Gogoi's Marriage Over Wife's ISI, USAID Links

Last Updated:February 14, 2025, 18:45 IST

The BJP Friday sharpened its attack on Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, alleging that while his wife has links with ISI, the deputy leader of opposition in Lok Sabha asked questions in the House on maritime security at the behest of the Pakistan High Commission.

BJP leader Ajay Alok and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi (File)

The political tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi escalated on Friday after the former claimed that Gogoi’s wife, Elizabeth Colburn, has links with Pakistan’s spy agency ISI, while the legislator asked questions on maritime security in Lok Sabha at the behest of the Pakistan High Commission.

What BJP Claimed?

While addressing a press conference, BJP Leader Ajay Alok traded guns at the Jorhat MP and alleged that before marrying Gogoi in 2013, Colburn was an "ISI supporter" and had also worked with Pakistan Planning Commission vice chairman Ali Tauqeer Sheikh.

“She has also worked with Senator Thom, who has close ties to George Soros. Elizabeth Colburn’s sister-in-law is associated with an organisation called Caritas, which is accused of carrying out conversions in India. The organisation receives funding from USAID, which is part of the deep state," he said.

Alok further demanded Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and deputy leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Gogoi to come out with a clarification on the matter.

"Did he know about this before marrying her?… Was it a strategic marriage? The Congress will have to answer the question in this issue. It is because the Congress has had an anti-national stance since the beginning," Alok said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also questioned Gogoi’s visit to West Bank asking whether the trip was assisted by a US-based NGO.

“Did the Hon’ble MP visit places like Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, Jenin, Nazareth, and Bethlehem in the West Bank with the assistance of a US-based NGO? We seek details about this NGO due to serious national security concerns. We have a legitimate right to ask this question," he said.

Gogoi Asked Questions On Behest Of Pak Embassy, Claims BJP

The BJP spokesperson 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".

Gogoi also asked questions in Lok Sabha such as ’what is the status of coastal maritime security? How many radars have been installed along the Indian coastline and how many more radars do we (the government) want to install there?’ the BJP spokesperson said, adding that it is on record.

“Asking these questions after getting them from the Pakistan embassy. What does it indicate? With whom was he sharing this information?" Alok asked.

Gogoi Hits Back, Threatens Legal Action

The Jorhat MP lambasted the saffron camp and threatened to take legal action against the party. "The BJP has gone to extreme steps to defame me and my family. Their allegations are malicious and baseless. I will be taking the appropriate legal action," he said in a post on X.

Earlier on Thursday, CM Sarma raised questions about a meeting Gogoi held a decade ago with the then Pakistan High Commissioner to India, and linked it to his wife Elizabeth Gogoi.

In a post on X, Sarma said, “In 2015, the Pakistani High Commissioner to India, Mr. Abdul Basit, invited a first-term Member of Parliament (MP) and his startup, Policy for Youth, to discuss India-Pakistan relations…Soon after, his startup published an article in The Hindu criticizing the Border Security Force’s handling of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. A closer examination of his parliamentary questions revealed a growing focus on sensitive defense matters…Interestingly, these developments occurred immediately after his marriage to a British citizen with a professional background that raises further questions."

Continuing to target Elizabeth, Sarma said she had in the past “spent time in Pakistan, employed by an organization widely believed to be a front for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)."

Dismissing the allegations as “laughable", Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday said, “If my wife is an ISI agent of Pakistan, then I am an R&AW agent of India. I don’t mind if a family against whom there are various cases and several allegations makes accusations against me. The Assam chief minister is making these allegations only to divert attention from the allegations against him."

Who is Elizabeth Gogoi?

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.

She previously worked with the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN). According to her author profile on the CDKN website, where her last article dates back to 2014, she coordinated the organisation’s work in India and Nepal.

“Elizabeth joined CDKN in March 2011 with a background in climate change and development policy-making and research. This included working in the European Parliament on the negotiations of the 2009 EU Climate Change Package, and as a researcher in the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) looking at EU development cooperation. She also has experience working in the US Senate, UN Secretariat and for NGOs in Tanzania and South Africa," the website reads.

(With inputs from agencies)

News politics 'Situation Similar To Sonia Gandhi': BJP Questions Gaurav Gogoi's Marriage Over Wife's ISI, USAID Links