Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has dropped a political bombshell, exposing what he describes as a “deep and dangerous nexus” between Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s British-origin wife, Elizabeth Colburn, and Pakistani climate lobbying groups involved in intelligence-gathering activities in India. With the state government now preparing to release explosive documentary evidence on September 10, the revelations have sent shockwaves through the political and national security establishment.
In a press conference that pulled no punches, CM Sarma accused Colburn of “snooping on behalf of a foreign lobby,” stating that she had access to sensitive Intelligence Bureau (IB) documents and quoted from them in ways that raised serious national security concerns. He added that this access could only have been possible through deliberate infiltration and misuse of official connections within the Indian establishment.
#WATCH | Guwahati: On Assam Congress chief and MP Gaurav Gogoi, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma says, "The entire point was to dethrone Bhupen Borah. He (Gogoi) could have admitted that before his appointment. He is very smart. He knows that he has to admit. So, he admitted after… https://t.co/06a41tAw9a pic.twitter.com/2pyJDeyXbT
— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2025
“His wife was snooping on our IB. I have documents to prove that. This is not about politics. This is about Bharat’s security,” Sarma said, making it clear that the state government’s probe has yielded critical findings.
According to Sarma, Colburn’s travel to Pakistan during her so-called climate research project was not merely academic. Her visit had formal approval from Pakistan’s Interior Department—a rare and telling detail that suggests an institutional relationship with the Pakistani state apparatus. “This was not about her marriage or an incidental visit. This was a coordinated, approved visit,” Sarma stated firmly.
Taking a dig at the Congress MP’s attempts to brush aside the allegations, Sarma said, “He is very smart. He knows what’s coming. That’s why he admitted the visit only after getting the appointment letter as Congress chief.” Sarma questioned why Gogoi hadn’t been transparent from the beginning if there was nothing to hide.
The Chief Minister went further, stating: “Gaurav Gogoi and his wife used the shield of climate activism to embed themselves within Indian policymaking networks and intelligence frameworks, all while maintaining close contact with the Pakistani establishment until at least 2017–18.”
He warned that this was not merely a political issue but one of national integrity, claiming that foreign agencies, under the guise of climate action, were embedding operatives in India to extract confidential information.
Sarma minced no words: “This is about national security. Their role within the Indian establishment was crafted using the influence of Tarun Gogoi’s office. They had access to systems they should never have touched. We are prepared to place all evidence before the public on September 10.”
He called out the central Congress leadership for continuing to protect Gogoi, even after these serious charges, and described the situation as “unprecedented in independent India’s political history.”
Gaurav Gogoi, instead of addressing the gravity of the charges, dismissed the issue with filmi one-liners, calling it a “C-grade Bollywood movie” and mocking the revelations. “His flippant response shows arrogance and deflection, not innocence,” said a senior BJP functionary in Assam.
Gogoi admitted to accompanying his wife on one trip to Pakistan nearly a decade ago and confirmed her earlier work in South Asia on climate-related issues but failed to explain how classified IB documents allegedly ended up in her possession or why a foreign national working on an international project was granted such access in the first place.
His remarks about why the Centre had not acted for the last 11 years conveniently ignored the fact that investigations into national security matters must be done with caution and confidentiality—and that the timing of disclosures is often governed by legal preparedness, not electoral optics.
