Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had accused Congress MP of meeting a Pakistan Army officer during his visit to the neighbouring country. File.
| Photo Credit: H.S. Manjunath
The Assam Congress has advised Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to stop “misusing patriotism as a political weapon” by targeting MP Gaurav Gogoi and his British wife with “vague accusations”.
The party reacted to the Chief Minister’s post on X, questioning the inclusion of Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi in a Congress list of leaders for delegations to be sent abroad to explain India’s position on Pakistan-based terrorism.
The Assam Congress said the Chief Minister indulged in “selective outrage, political hypocrisy, and deliberate misinformation” following his recent public attack on Mr Gogoi.
Mr. Sarma had accused the MP of meeting a Pakistan Army officer during his visit to the neighbouring country. He also claimed that Mr Gogoi took 90 boys and girls to the Pakistani Embassy in New Delhi for “radicalisation”.
The Chief Minister said the MP’s British wife, Elizabeth Colburn, worked for an organisation with links to the Inter-Services Intelligence, the Pakistani spy agency.
The State Congress defended the MP’s foreign travel, specifically to Pakistan, for “personal” reasons, “fully disclosed and in accordance with the law”. It slammed the Chief Minister for trying to malign the MP and his wife with “false accusations” for “petty political gains”.
The party reminded the Chief Minister that true patriotism would have meant criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jagdish Devda for insulting the Indian Army, or chastening Vijay Shah for his slur on a decorated woman Army officer, or questioning National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s son’s Pakistan links.
“Clean your house before preaching patriotism. Stop misusing patriotism as a political weapon. You are not the sole custodian of nationalism,” the Assam Congress said.
Published – May 18, 2025 03:01 pm IST
