Dhubri—Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has levelled serious allegations against Congress leader and MP Gaurav Gogoi, claiming that Gogoi’s children are not Indian citizens. Speaking to the media on Friday, CM Sarma said he possessed evidence regarding the citizenship status of Gogoi’s son and daughter and questioned the MP’s alleged 15-day visit to Pakistan.
“There is no tourism in Pakistan; it’s only a terrorist adda. It’s 100% confirmed that he went there. The question is, what did he do during those 15 days?” Sarma stated. He further alleged that Congress leaders like Gaurav Gogoi and Robert Vadra show more concern for Pakistan than India.
The remarks come amid an intensifying political battle between Sarma and Gogoi, with both leaders engaging in a public war of words on social media during the ongoing panchayat elections in Assam. The controversy has added to the already charged political atmosphere in the state.
Earlier in the week, CM Sarma publicly posed several questions to Gogoi on the social media platform X, asking whether he had visited Pakistan for a continuous 15-day period, whether his wife was employed by a Pakistan-based NGO while residing in India, and what the current citizenship status of his wife and children was.
Gogoi responded by challenging Sarma to provide proof of the claims and questioned whether the Chief Minister would resign if unable to substantiate the accusations about his family being affiliated with a foreign country.
Meanwhile, the first phase of the panchayat elections began across 14 districts, including Sonitpur, Biswanath, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and others. Voters turned out in large numbers at polling stations, where security has been tightened to ensure peaceful voting.
The Assam State Election Commission has deployed more than 120,000 polling personnel and adequate security forces across the 25,007 polling stations. The second phase of voting is scheduled for May 7, with counting of votes on May 11.
In the run-up to the polls, the BJP-led NDA has already secured 37 Zila Parishad seats—35 by BJP and two by its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP)—as well as 288 Anchalik Panchayat seats, of which 259 were won by BJP and 29 by AGP, all unopposed.