Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that no resident of the state would bow before a Pakistani agent, while speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony of the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor Project. His remarks were seen as a sharp political attack amid the ongoing controversy involving Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi.
Addressing the gathering, Sarma said, “Assamese will not bow before a Pakistani agent. No Assamese will bow before any unknown people. We have freed Batadrava Than from encroachers.” Though he did not name anyone initially, political observers said the statement was a clear reference to Gaurav Gogoi.
Later in his speech, the chief minister directly mentioned the Congress leader and said, “I want to say, Gaurav Gogoi, if you want to oppose, you carry on. But Assam has a dream to touch the sky, and we will achieve it.”
The remarks come against the backdrop of serious allegations made by Sarma last year, when he accused Gogoi and his wife Elizabeth Colburn of having links with Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI. Following these claims, the chief minister ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the matter.
Sarma said the SIT submitted its report on September 10 and claimed that it had revealed serious issues. “The SIT has unearthed startling facts which point towards a larger conspiracy aimed at undermining the sovereignty of our nation,” he said, adding that the case would soon be handed over to a central investigating agency.
Reacting to the allegations, Gaurav Gogoi has strongly denied all charges. After taking over as Assam Congress president, he described the accusations as baseless and politically motivated. “This is like a C grade Bollywood film. It will flop because the people of Assam understand everything,” Gogoi had said earlier.
