Gaurav Gogoi, wife have ‘deeper connection’ with Pakistan agent says Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday (February 8, 2026) questioned Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s “suspicious” 10-day visit to Pakistan in December 2013 and his British wife Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi’s professional stint with a climate organisation in the neighbouring country.

The attack on Mr. Gogoi, the State Congress president and the son of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, comes ahead of the elections to Assam’s 126-member Assembly expected by April. Mr. Sarma joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after falling out with the senior Gogoi in 2015.

Also Read | Gaurav Gogoi’s ‘Pakistan links’ being probed for sake of national security: Himanta

Addressing journalists in Guwahati, the Chief Minister asked Mr. Gogoi to disclose details of his visit to Pakistan months before he was elected to the Lok Sabha, during which he “uncharacteristically” maintained “digital silence”. He asked the Congress leader to make public a letter allegedly issued by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry, leading to the modification of the itinerary in his visa.

The Chief Minister said Mr. Gogoi entered Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border for his visit from December 14 to 24, 2013. “Pakistan is not a tourist destination. Asked by the media about the purpose of his visit, he claimed that he had gone to meet his wife, who had shifted to India 21 months earlier,” Mr. Sarma said, adding that the Special Branch of the Assam Police was not informed about the visit, although Mr. Gogoi’s father was the Chief Minister of the State then.

Mr. Sarma said that the Congress MP was granted a visa by the Pakistan High Commission in India to visit Lahore, but on December 16, after he reached the city, the country’s Interior Minister issued a letter to let him visit Islamabad and Karachi. Assam’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the MP’s alleged Pakistan links, learnt about the modification in his travel itinerary by confiscating his passport without interrogating him, the Chief Minister said.

“I want him to make public the letter. We want to know its content. We want to know who he met in Lahore and why Pakistan rolled out the red carpet for him,” he said.

“From Lahore, he was taken to Islamabad and Karachi. We suspect he may have undergone some form of training during those ten days,” he added.

Mr. Sarma said some kind of indoctrination was evident from the questions Mr. Gogoi raised in Parliament after becoming an MP in 2014. These questions related to national security, including uranium reserves, border security, patrolling along the LAC, Chinese infrastructure, defence procurements, air squadrons, submarines, climate change, and national water mission strategies.

The Chief Minister also questioned Mr. Gogoi’s decision, after becoming an MP, to take a youth delegation to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. “Have you ever heard of any other Indian MP doing this? Who facilitated his visits to Islamabad and Karachi? If he does not answer, every question he raised in Parliament will be viewed with suspicion,” he said.

‘National threat’

Escalating his attack, Mr. Sarma described Mr. Gogoi as a “national threat” and alleged he could be vulnerable to blackmail. “Pakistan has recordings of his meetings. Had he not been compromised, would he have raised such sensitive issues in Parliament,” he asked.

Mr. Sarma said Ms. Gogoi began her career working with U.S. Senator Tom Udall, whom he linked to American investor George Soros. The Chief Minister noted that Mr. Udall had supported the resumption of U.S. aid to Pakistan after it was suspended following the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Ms. Gogoi joined LEAD Pakistan, a climate organisation associated with the U.K.-based Climate and Development Knowledge Network, as a consultant on March 18, 2011. Mr. Sarma claimed that during the questioning by the SIT, she admitted to having a Pakistani bank account but refused to say whether it was still active. “We suspect the account is still operational,” he said.

He further alleged that a month after joining LEAD Pakistan, Ms. Gogoi was offered a position at LEAD India by its head, Bhawana Luthra, with a year’s flexibility to take up the role. According to Mr. Sarma, Ms. Luthra and Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, the head of LEAD Pakistan and adviser to Pakistan’s Planning Commission, made an agreement to let Ms. Gogoi work in India but report to Mr. Sheikh.

“An Indian MP’s wife was effectively managed by Pakistan,” the Chief Minister alleged, adding that Mr. Sheikh, who had links to Pakistan’s armed forces, deleted his India-related posts on X after the investigation began. These posts were intended to generate global opinions against India and the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said.

Mr. Sarma said LEAD India was brought under LEAD Pakistan to ensure that Ms. Gogoi continued receiving her salary from Pakistan. He alleged she was paid ₹2.5 lakh per month, while her superior earned ₹50,000, and that ₹82.41 lakh out of ₹91.27 lakh transferred from LEAD Pakistan to LEAD India went to Ms. Gogoi.

The Chief Minister said the Pakistan-related activities of Mr. Gogoi and his wife would not have been possible without the involvement of influential people in the Indian establishment during the UPA rule. “The flow of funds was facilitated, bypassing the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act guidelines. It is not easy to obtain FCRA clearance, specifically for funds from Pakistan,” he said.

Confidential reports

According to him, Ms. Gogoi travelled from Pakistan to India three times, accompanied by Mr. Sheikh. After relocating to India, she visited Pakistan nine times – six during her tenure with LEAD India and three after joining Oxford Policy Management. All visits were allegedly sponsored by Pakistan and conducted via the Attari border.

Mr. Sarma claimed that during her time in India, Ms. Gogoi sent confidential policy-related reports to Pakistan, including material purportedly quoting sensitive Intelligence Bureau documents. He further alleged that after the BJP came to power in 2014, she suggested working with sub-national agencies rather than the Indian government on climate issues.

Citing the seriousness of the allegations, the Chief Minister said the Assam Cabinet decided on Saturday (February 7, 2026) to hand the case over to the Ministry of Home Affairs and seek a national-level investigation. He added that while the SIT had not interrogated Mr. Gogoi out of respect for his position, it would do so if directed by the Centre.

“After studying the SIT report, we realised that the ball is not in the Centre’s court,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that the SIT report was submitted in September 2025, but was not made public at the time as Assam was mourning the death of music icon Zubeen Garg.

“We will request the Centre to cancel Elizabeth’s OCI visa as it is against national interest. I am giving Gaurav Gogoi ten days to explain his Pakistan visit, failing which it will be viewed as anti-India,” Mr. Sarma said.

Mr. Gogoi said the Chief Minister embarrassed himself before the media and claimed that the journalists remained unconvinced after the lengthy press conference. He dismissed the allegations and instead asked how Mr. Sarma’s family acquired vast tracts of land across Assam, promising redistribution if Congress came to power.