Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said an investigation is being conducted into Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s alleged Pakistan links for the “sake of national security”, and any likely impact on politics is “secondary”.
He claimed that two persons — a Pakistani national and a British citizen — have “central roles” in this entire matter, though he did not name either of them.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a government programme in Guwahati, Sarma said, “The state cabinet will discuss the SIT report and decide on the future course of action. One Pakistani citizen and one British citizen are related and have central roles. The British person is wife of an MP.”
He maintained that the probe is “not about politics” and said, “This investigation is for the sake of national security. Its impact on politics is secondary.”
The Assam CM and the BJP have been attacking Gogoi, who also the president of the state Congress, over his wife’s alleged connection with Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.
The state government had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe a case of alleged interference of Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, who was claimed to have links with Gogoi’s British wife Elizabeth Colburn, in India’s internal affairs.
Gogoi, however had dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, and slammed Sarma over his accusation.
Gogoi said the CM’s remarks were “ridiculous, baseless, insane and nonsense” and that he was behaving like an “IT cell troll” without talking with facts.
