Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has raised serious national security concerns over the proposed Congress delegation to represent India’s position on terrorism and Pakistan in foreign countries. The Chief Minister questioned the inclusion of certain Congress leaders, alleging possible links with Pakistan, and urged the opposition leadership to reconsider the selection in the national interest.
The controversy erupted after the government included Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as a delegate, a move that was swiftly contested by the Congress party itself. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stated that the names submitted by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs did not include Tharoor. Instead, the party had proposed the following four names:
- Anand Sharma, former Union Cabinet Minister
- Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader, INC in Lok Sabha
- Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain, Rajya Sabha MP
- Raja Brar, Lok Sabha MP
Ramesh expressed dissatisfaction over what he called an arbitrary decision by the government to insert Tharoor’s name, bypassing the Congress list.
While the focus remained on procedural irregularities, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma brought a more serious concern to light—raising national security red flags over one of the names submitted by Congress, without directly naming MP Gaurav Gogoi.
In a sharp statement, Sarma said, “One of the MPs named in the list has not denied his prolonged stay in Pakistan—reportedly for two weeks—and credible documents show that his wife was drawing a salary from a Pakistan-based NGO while residing in India.”
The Chief Minister stressed that someone under scrutiny for potential links with Pakistan’s intelligence ecosystem should not be entrusted with the sensitive task of representing India’s position on terrorism and its adversarial relationship with Islamabad. “In the interest of national security and beyond partisan politics, I urge the Leader of the Opposition, Sri Rahul Gandhi, not to include this individual in such a sensitive and strategic assignment,” Sarma said.
The individual in question is Gaurav Gogoi, Congress MP from Assam and son of former CM Tarun Gogoi. According to CM Sarma, an Assam Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) is probing alleged links between Gogoi, his British-origin wife Elizabeth Colburn, and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) network.
CM Sarma further stated that preliminary findings reveal:
- Elizabeth Colburn was reportedly on the payroll of a Pakistani NGO while residing in India.
- The NGO is alleged to have ties with people close to the ISI.
MP Gogoi is said to have visited Pakistan and stayed for 15 days without notifying Indian authorities—a serious breach of protocol.
He also reportedly maintained close ties with officials of the Pakistan Embassy in New Delhi.
The Congress party has not issued an official denial of these claims, and MP Gaurav Gogoi has yet to respond directly to the allegations regarding his stay in Pakistan and his wife’s associations.
Political analysts suggest that this development may escalate the already tense relationship between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, especially ahead of strategic foreign engagements where bipartisan unity is crucial.
However, CM Sarma’s statements are likely to prompt heightened scrutiny of those selected to represent India on the global stage—particularly in matters involving national security, terrorism, and foreign policy with Pakistan.
