Cong leader Gaurav Gogoi hits back at Assam CM over 'India-Pakistan' jibe

Guwahati, Feb 25 (PTI) A day after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma suggested that Gaurav Gogoi should have been assigned to an 'India-Pakistan' group rather than the parliamentary friendship panel with the Philippines, the Congress leader on Wednesday questioned the "value" of the CM's remarks as the Lok Sabha Speaker formed the panel.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday constituted Parliamentary Friendship Groups with more than 60 countries, comprising various opposition members, with Gogoi named as the president of the panel for the Philippines.

Reacting to media queries on Tuesday, Sarma maintained that the Congress MP should have been assigned to an 'India-Pakistan' group in an apparent reference to his earlier allegation that the Congress leader was a "Pakistani agent".

Responding to the remarks, Gogoi questioned the relevance of the CM's comments as the letter appointing him was issued by Birla and not by Sarma.

"What role does the CM have in this matter? What is the value of his remarks? Once the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has assigned a responsibility within the House, I do not understand the relevance of comments made by Sarma," he added.

The Jorhat Lok Sabha MP expressed his gratitude to the people of the constituency and the state for their support and blessings in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which enabled him to reach this position, Gogoi said.

"A group has been constituted with members and a chairperson. I was formally informed of the responsibility through an official letter. Everyone has seen the letter issued by the Lok Sabha Speaker," he added.

After the appointment, Assam Congress asserted that nomination of its president as the head of the 'India-Philippines Parliamentary Friendship Group' comes at a time when the CM is "running a malicious campaign" against Gogoi, a charge vehemently dismissed by him.

For more than a year, the Assam CM and the BJP have been attacking Gogoi and his British wife Elizabeth Colburn, alleging connections with Pakistan's spy agency ISI.

They even claim that the Congress leader has "direct links" with the neighbouring nation, as the state gears up for Assembly elections.

On February 8, Sarma had alleged in a press conference that Gogoi, Colburn and Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh had a "deeper connection", and that information from the Intelligence Bureau was secretly passed on to the neighbouring nation.

Gogoi had dismissed the allegations of his Pakistani connections as "most mindless and bogus". He dubbed the press conference, where Sarma made the allegations, "worse than C-grade cinema", which was a "super flop". PTI TR TR MNB