In Guwahati, on April 5, Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Gaurav Gogoi asked Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to answer three questions regarding whether his family owns property or companies abroad.
These questions were raised during a press conference, shortly after Sarma said that he and his wife would file a defamation lawsuit against Khera within 48 hours for making "false allegations" that she has multiple passports and owns property in Dubai, which were not mentioned in his election affidavit.
Khera had made these accusations during a press conference in New Delhi earlier on Sunday, just four days before the state goes to the polls on April 9.
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, the Congress leaders asked the Assam CM three questions: whether his wife or family owns property in Dubai, has companies in Wyoming, USA, or holds assets in shell companies.
Gogoi and Khera demanded that Sarma provide an affidavit to the Election Commission of India regarding his wife's alleged property in Dubai, the company in Wyoming, and assets held in shell companies.
"These details are missing from the affidavit submitted to the ECI, and his nomination is a valid reason for disqualification," he said.
Gogoi said that Sarma has accused him of not disclosing his wife's alleged bank accounts in Pakistan, adding, "I can swear by the Bhagavad Gita that this is not true, but can he do the same?"
Khera, however, alleged that Sarma might not be telling the truth even "about the Gita," as he doesn't think he is truly religious, and we want him to provide an affidavit about these properties which he has not mentioned during the nomination process.
The party also demanded that the Centre form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate these allegations – multiple passports, undisclosed foreign assets, and the source of funds in foreign entities.
The EC must also examine the alleged non-disclosure of foreign assets and take appropriate action, the party said.
Regarding Sarma's threat to file a defamation lawsuit against Khera, the leaders stated that this is nothing new, as he has filed several defamation lawsuits, including one against Gogoi, whenever corruption charges have been leveled against him.
"We want him to go to court and then we will come with a large number of documents to prove the truth. We challenge him to go to court today itself; why wait till tomorrow?" he added.
The state Congress president presented a list of defamation lawsuits filed by Sarma, claiming that whenever any allegation is made against him, he files a defamation lawsuit, and people now know that this is his way of "hiding the truth".
Gogoi also claimed that the CM is not saying anything about the properties and companies, but is threatening to go to court on the allegations that his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma has three passports.
However, both Sarma and his spouse rejected the accusations.
Gogoi asserted that these facts came to light from the documents submitted while applying for a specialized visa for Dubai.
The CM or the BJP is yet to respond to the new charge.
Khera had earlier alleged at a press conference in New Delhi that Sarma's wife holds three passports of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Antigua-Barbuda, and Egypt, which expire on March 2027, August 2031, and February 2029, respectively.
Asked why these allegations were made just four days before the assembly elections, the AICC spokesperson said here, "We had information before, but the facts needed to be verified...as much as we can verify while in opposition.''
He said that these are just the "tip of the iceberg, and there is more to come."
Gogoi said that these are cases that should be investigated by the CBI, the Income Tax department, and the ED, but the Centre will not allow them to do so.
"We cannot change the loyalty of the law-enforcing agencies, but we can change the government. We will go to the people's court, and the people will make the change on April 9," he said.
Former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, who was also present at the press conference, said, "The PM had commented 'Na khaunga aur na khane doonga' (our government will not be corrupt and will not allow others to be so). Now we have to see what steps are taken by him."
Earlier, Sarma also claimed that there were 'serious discrepancies' in the documents shared by Khera in Delhi, which suggests that it was a "crude and poorly executed attempt at digital manipulation".
The chief minister, listing the anomalies in the documents circulated by Khera, said in a post on X: "Busting Congress' propaganda—serious discrepancies exposed. The documents being circulated show multiple glaring inconsistencies, suggesting a crude and poorly executed attempt at digital manipulation.''
He said the Congress used 'Sarma' instead of his wife's surname.
"The photograph appears to be a publicly available image, not a standard biometric capture," the CM said.
Sarma asserted that he was confident that Khera's "campaign of falsehood is nearing its end. Eventually, Mr Khera will go to Jail."