GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday raised a series of questions linked to Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi’s Pakistan visit in 2013, when he was not a Member of Parliament, as well as his British wife, Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi, who briefly worked at a climate organisation in Pakistan.
Sarma threw down the gauntlet to Gogoi, who is also the Assam Congress president and deputy leader of the party in Parliament, asking him to share the details of his ten-day stay in Pakistan, and to make public a letter, allegedly issued by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry, modifying his itinerary on the visa.
“He visited Pakistan for ten days from December 14 to 24 in 2013. Pakistan is not a tourist country. When he was asked by Assamese media about the purpose of the visit, he had stated that he wanted to meet his wife, but she was then working in India. He visited Pakistan via the Attari border. His father (the late Tarun Gogoi) was then the Assam Chief Minister, but the Assam Police special branch was not informed about the visit,” Sarma said.
He said the visa was issued for a visit to Lahore, but on December 16, just a day after he arrived, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry issued a letter, allowing him to also visit Islamabad and Karachi.
The Assam Special Investigation Team (SIT) learnt about the modification in his travel itinerary by confiscating his passport without interrogating him, the Chief Minister said.
“I want him to make public the letter. We want to know its content. We want to know who all met him in Lahore and why Pakistan offered a red carpet to him,” Sarma said.
He said after ten days of digital silence (during the visit), Gogoi had changed completely and months later when he became an MP, he raised various questions in Parliament relating to national security such as uranium reserves and tapping, border security on the western front, LAC patrolling points, China infrastructure, import of hardware and software by defence forces, air squadrons, submarines assessment, climate change, national water mission strategies etc.
“From Lahore, he was taken to Islamabad and Karachi. We suspect that he was put under some kind of training during the ten days,” Sarma said.
He accused Gogoi of misleading the people of Assam with remarks that he visited Pakistan to meet his wife when she had shifted to India 21 months prior to his visit.
Sarma also asked Gogoi what made him take a delegation of youth to the Pakistani embassy in Delhi after he had become an MP in 2014.
“Have you ever heard about an Indian MP taking a youth delegation to the Pakistani embassy? Did he apply for his visit to Islamabad and Karachi? Who took him there? He must answer all these questions, or else every question that he raised in Parliament will be seen with suspicion,” Sarma said.
“The ball is in his court. It is his responsibility to answer all these questions. He is a national threat. After today’s press conference, he is the most vulnerable politician in India. He could be blackmailed for anything. Pakistan has every recording of his visit and meetings with people there. Had he not been blackmailed, would he have asked those sensitive questions in Parliament? He now cannot do anything other than serve Pakistan,” the Chief Minister said.
Talking about Elizabeth, he said she had started her career with Senator Tom Udall of the US, who had links with George Soros. Sarma said Udall was the man who had recommended the resumption of US assistance to Pakistan after it was stopped in the aftermath of Osama bin Laden’s killing.
“Elizabeth joined LEAD Pakistan (climate organisation) on March 18, 2011 as a consultant for one year. When we (SIT) encountered her, she said she had a Pakistani bank account. When we asked if the account was still active, she refused to answer. We suspect that it is still alive,” Sarma said.
He said one month after Elizabeth had joined LEAD Pakistan, she was offered appointment in LEAD India by its head Bhawana Luthra, with a one-year time to take up the appointment.
“There was an agreement between Bhawana Luthra and Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, an influential Pakistani national who was advisor to Pakistan’s Planning Commission and close to Pakistan’s armed forces, that although she would work in India, she would report to him. An Indian MP’s wife was managed by Pakistan. We found during the investigation that Sheikh had tried to conspire by indulging in Indian internal affairs. He deleted all his India-centric posts on X after we had launched the investigation,” Sarma said.
He further stated that it was agreed between Sheikh and Luthra that Elizabeth would be managed by Sheikh. LEAD India was brought under LEAD Pakistan solely to ensure that Elizabeth continued to receive her salary from Pakistan, Sarma said.
“Elizabeth’s salary was Rs 2.5 lakh per month whereas the salary of her boss Bhawana Luthra was Rs 50,000. LEAD India received Rs 91 lakh from LEAD Pakistan, of which Rs 82.41 lakh was paid to Elizabeth,” Sarma said.
He suspected that someone influential at the then Indian establishment had helped ensure the flow of money from Pakistan bypassing Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). “It is not easy to get FCRA clearance. I believe there was another guy who was closely connected to the then Indian establishment,” he said.
Sarma said Elizabeth visited India from Pakistan three times accompanied by Sheikh, and after she had relocated to India, she visited Pakistan nine times – six times when she was associated with LEAD India and three times after she had taken up a job at Oxford Policy Management. He said her visits, all via Attari, were sponsored by Pakistan.
“She undertook these nine visits after her marriage to Gaurav Gogoi. Bhawana told us that she had no idea why Elizabeth undertook the six visits to Pakistan during her tenure with LEAD India. We call the six visits unauthorised as her boss had no idea about these,” Sarma said.
During her tenure in India, the Chief Minister said, she used to send confidential reports to Pakistan on matters relating to policy, climate change, etc. In a 45-page report, she purportedly quoted sensitive Intelligence Bureau reports.
Sarma said after the installation of the BJP-led government at the Centre in 2014, Elizabeth had allegedly suggested to Sheikh that they should work with sub-national agencies on climate actions instead of the Government of India.
“We believe there is a deeper connection among Elizabeth, Gaurav Gogoi and Pakistan. These are not easy things to digest, as they are linked to Pakistan. Therefore, the Assam Cabinet has decided to hand over the case to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). We will request the MHA to order a national-level probe,” Sarma said.
He further stated that the SIT did not interrogate Gogoi to show some kind of respect to his position but should the central government direct, it would interrogate him. Investigation will definitely lead to some hard actions, he said.
The SIT had submitted its report to the Assam government in September last year but the government chose to not make it public then as the state was grieving the death of music icon Zubeen Garg and people would have thought the BJP was doing politics ahead of elections, Sarma said.
“We will request the Government of India to cancel Elizabeth’s OCI visa as it is detrimental to national interest. We had interrogated her about Gaurav’s stay in Pakistan. She refused to talk about it. I am giving ten days to Gaurav to explain what he did in Pakistan or I will be compelled to view his visit as anti-India,” Sarma further stated.
Gogoi responded by saying that Sarma embarrassed himself on the stage in front of local and national media. After two-and-a-half-hours of press conference, even the journalists in the room remained unconvinced, he said, adding that nobody in Assam is taking his words seriously.
“He should rather explain how his family managed to acquire 12,000 bighas or 4000 acres of prime property across Assam. When we come to power, we will take those lands and distribute them amongst the poor and landless,” Gogoi posted on X.