Gaurav Gogoi counters Himanta's remarks, says even Advani visited Pak, 'eulogised' Jinnah

New Delhi: Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday strongly countered Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's remarks against him for his visit to Pakistan, saying many BJP leaders, including party stalwart L K Advani, visited the neighbouring country and even eulogised Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Gogoi also said that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lahore "to attend the birthday celebration" of former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Sarma on Sunday accused Gogoi of visiting Pakistan on an invitation from its spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), claiming that the Congress leader worked closely with the establishment of the neighbouring country.

Gogoi, the deputy leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, said the government of India was fully aware of his visit to Pakistan, adding that he even deposited a copy of his passport and there was nothing to hide about his travel.

"Many BJP leaders visited Pakistan over the years. L K Advani visited Pakistan in 2005 and offered a 'chadar' at the grave of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He even eulogised Jinnah," Gogoi said.

He also referred to Modi's visit to Lahore in 2015 and former external affairs minister late Jaswant Singh's book on Jinnah.

"The Modi government even invited a Pakistani team for conducting an inquiry into the terror attack at the Pathakot air base. The team had an ISI officer," he said.

Referring to his visit to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi along with a delegation of youth in 2015, the Congress leader said the claim of Sarma that the Indian youth were "brainwashed" was nothing but a "big lie".

"The fact is the youth grilled the then-Pakistan high commissioner on Pakistan's links with terrorists. I wrote articles saying I had no faith in the Pakistani establishment since its army had close links with terrorists. I also wrote that Pakistan's military, intelligence agencies and terrorists had a close nexus," Gogoi said.

The Congress leader also said he was ready for the probe being carried out by an SIT constituted by the Assam government for his alleged Pakistan links through his wife Elizabeth Colburn.

"Sarma has been telling everyone that the SIT will submit its report in September. Why do you need to wait till September given the kind of allegations levelled against me? "He (Sarma) is not willing to complete the probe so soon, so he is trying to drag it till September. But nothing will come up," Gogoi said.

Sarma earlier alleged that Gogoi had Pakistan links through his wife Colburn.

The chief minister also said that the government has "documentary evidence" to support the claim, and every proof will be presented to the public by September 10 after proper verification.

"The chief minister has a habit of telling thousands of lie. He also did not give details of his own visit to Bangladesh," Gogoi said.