Assam: APCC president Gaurav Gogoi terms CM’s allegation a super flop

OUR BUREAU

MANGALDAI/GUWAHATI: APCC president and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi today described Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma’s press conference on his alleged links to Pakistan as a ‘super flop show’. Gogoi questioned the Chief Minister as to why he had kept mum on the issue for six months if it was serious enough.

Gogoi made this remark while speaking to the media in Sipajhar, Darrang district, during his ongoing mobile rally called ‘Samay Paribortanor’ jatra (a journey for change) that reached Darrang today.

When asked for his immediate reaction to the allegations—that he had stayed in Pakistan for ten days and that his wife, Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi, had drawn salaries from a Pakistani agency—Gogoi said, “During his two-and-a-half-hour press conference, he made his level best to get takers of his flop cinema among the public. He, however, couldn’t even convince the reporters covering the press meet. I had all along been saying that it would be a flop show. However, it turned out to be a super flop show.”

Gogoi said, “He (the CM) said that he would give details of the SIT findings on September 10, 2025. If the matter is so serious, what did he do in the past six months? Now the election is knocking on the door. He noted that we have been publicly addressing their issues, like their ownership of 12,000 bighas of land. People have joined us in the ‘Samay Paribortonor’ jatra. The people of the state want changes, and they want to experience new rainfall. Now, he is disclosing the SIT findings when the election is barely two months away. He should have disclosed these things six months ago or sent them to the centre. We continued the jatra for three days, during which we disclosed land-related issues about thousands of bighas. Our jatra hit the target, and his cinema proved to be a flop.”

Later, Gaurav Gogoi wrote on his X handle, “He (the CM) should rather explain how his family managed to acquire 12,000 bighas, or 4000 acres, of prime property across Assam. When we come to power, we will take those lands and distribute them amongst the poor and landless.”

Gaurav Gogoi, however, averted a reply when asked for details about his ten-day stay in Pakistan. He also opted not to respond to the reporters’ query regarding his wife, Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi, drawing a salary from Pakistan.

AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh, MP Rakibul Hussain, and Ripun Bora also addressed the media during the Samay Paribortonor’ jatra. 

Later in the evening, on their return journey, the Congress leaders held a brief public meeting in the area.

Earlier in the day, the mobile rally commenced at Kharupetia in the district. Gaurav Gogoi and other party leaders boarded a specially designed truck and proceeded through the streets until reaching Patharighat under the Sipajhar LAC.

Meanwhile, AICC general secretary in charge of Assam, Jitendra Singh, strongly criticised the allegations made by the Chief Minister against Tarun Gogoi’s son, daughter-in-law, and even an eight-year-old child, stating that such accusations had deeply hurt the sentiments of every citizen of Assam. “Politics is one thing, but making baseless allegations against a respected family at a personal level is extremely reprehensible. Everyone in Assam knows the contribution of Tarun Gogoi to Himanta Biswa Sarma’s political rise. After betraying Tarun Gogoi for power, the Chief Minister has now been levelling serial allegations against Gaurav Gogoi for the past year,” Singh said.

All India Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba, reacting to the SIT report during her visit to Mangaldoi, accused the Chief Minister of attempting to mislead the people of Assam with false narratives, stating that the public would deliver the appropriate verdict.

Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, described the SIT report as a “flop show” and said the Chief Minister had lowered the dignity of his office.

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