‘We wanted SIT report out’: Gaurav Gogoi says Assam CM ‘walked into our trap’

Guwahati, Feb 9: A sharp political confrontation has erupted in Assam between Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi following the Chief Minister’s public disclosure of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) report, triggering a war of words across the State’s political landscape.

Amid statewide reactions to the disclosures, Gogoi, on Monday, launched a counter-offensive, alleging that Sarma’s press conference was politically motivated and aimed at diverting public attention from land-related allegations involving the Chief Minister’s family.

Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati, Gogoi questioned both the timing and intent behind the disclosure of the SIT report.

“If the report was so dangerous, why did the Chief Minister sit on it for six months?” Gogoi asked, alleging that the press conference was orchestrated to divert public attention.

Taking a jibe at Sarma’s over two-hour-long briefing, the APCC chief claimed that no concrete evidence had been produced against him despite the detailed presentation.

“I am actually happy this ‘super flop cinema’ has been released,” Gogoi said, adding that the Congress had consciously not approached the court earlier to avoid being accused of suppressing the report.

“We wanted the report to come out and in doing so, the Chief Minister walked into our trap,” he claimed.

Responding to questions surrounding his and his family’s travel to Pakistan, Gogoi said he had visited the country in late 2013 and early 2014 after informing the Central government.

He said his wife, who works with an international organisation, had travelled to Pakistan in 2012 for a year-long climate-related project and that he had accompanied her as her spouse.

Clarifying his travel itinerary, Gogoi said his visa mentioned Lahore, but he also travelled to Takshashila (Taxila) out of personal interest after informing the authorities.

“There’s a rule in Pakistan that you have to inform authorities before visiting a place, and I did so,” he said, adding that his travel documents were submitted to the Indian government upon his return.

“Didn’t the Modi government notice the visa stamps then?” Gogoi asked, stressing that his press conference was meant to address the people of Assam and prevent them from being misled.

Escalating his attack, Gogoi accused the Chief Minister of dragging his minor children into a political controversy.

He alleged that details of his five-and nine-year-old children had been made public and warned that the issue would be raised in Delhi under provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.

The Congress leader also levelled counter-allegations over land allegedly allotted to corporate entities, including Adani, Ambani and Patanjali, and claimed that the party had gathered extensive information on land holdings linked to the Chief Minister.

“I have not entered politics to run a company or a resort,” Gogoi said, adding that the Congress had collected information on nearly 4,000 acres of land allegedly connected to Sarma during its Parivartan Yatra in Kamrup, Guwahati and Nagaon.

“As we began exposing these facts, the SIT report was used as a distraction,” he alleged.

CM Sarma flags visa, location discrepancy

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sarma responded on social media, countering Gogoi’s version of events regarding his Pakistan visit. Sarma pointed out that Takshashila (Taxila) is located in Rawalpindi district of Pakistan’s Punjab province, not within the Islamabad Capital Territory.

“This single fact raises a serious and unavoidable question,” Sarma wrote, noting that if Gogoi’s visa permitted travel only to Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, his visit to Taxila would have required additional authorisation under Pakistan’s immigration rules.

“The question is simple and legitimate: Who facilitated his movement to Takshashila despite the apparent absence of visa clearance for Rawalpindi district?” Sarma asked, also highlighting that the Pakistan Army headquarters is located in Rawalpindi.

With both sides hardening their positions, the political confrontation between the ruling BJP and the Congress in Assam shows little sign of easing.