Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi was attacked by senior BJP leaders and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after his emotional speech in Parliament on Tuesday.
During his speech, Gogoi criticized the government for its response to the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor and sought more openness regarding the number of Indian fighter planes shot down by Pakistan.
The day after his speech, Chief Minister Sarma escalated tensions by threatening to hand over an ongoing state-level investigation—probing alleged connections between Gogoi’s wife and a Pakistan-based NGO—to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the central body for counter-terror probes.
"The SIT formed by the Assam government has grounds to suspect a further investigation into the Gogois' reported Pakistan connection," Sarma stated, going on to say that he could suggest an NIA takeover later this year.
This came after inflammatory statements during Parliament by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP MP Dilip Saikia from Assam. Shah had claimed that Gogoi had made a trip to Pakistan, and Saikia went one step ahead by stating that Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi, the wife of the Congress MP, was "on the payroll" of Pakistan.
Saikia validated his charge by referring to the way Pakistani media houses quoted pieces of his address to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suggesting collusion or sympathy.
Reacting to Shah's comments, Gogoi lashed out aggressively:
"I went to Pakistan ahead of Modiji going to Pakistan to have biryani… I don't know why he (Amit Shah) brought this up."
He continued, "Today was the day for the current government to own its failures. Instead… Amit Shah ji wished to cover up his failures behind the bravery and the patriotism of the Indian defence forces."
Shah replied by accusing Gogoi of lacking patriotism. "You have visited Pak numerous times, Gogoi… ever visited the border?" the Home Minister retorted in Parliament.
Assam Chief Minister Sarma was quick to pick up on these exchanges, posting screenshots of Shah and Saikia's speeches on social media platform X, claiming that Gogoi is pro-Pakistan.
“The speech delivered by our MP from Jorhat in Parliament yesterday proved beyond doubt he acts on behalf of Pakistan,” Sarma wrote, further escalating the rhetoric by referring to the foreign citizenship held by Gogoi’s wife and children: “… and with his wife and both kids holding foreign citizenship, he can leave India any time.”
This sharp attack comes despite Sarma's past political alliance with Gogoi’s father, former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
Earlier this year, Sarma gave a deadline of September 10 to unveil what he called “damning” evidence linking Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi to activities involving classified national security data.
In May, Gaurav Gogoi strongly refuted these claims, blaming the Chief Minister for spreading falsehood. He confirmed to have traveled to Pakistan but explained that it was over 15 years ago—long prior to his entry into public life.
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