Guwahati, May 17 — Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday appealed to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to remove a Member of Parliament from Assam from the list of four lawmakers nominated by the Congress party for an international delegation tasked with explaining India’s position on terrorism originating from Pakistan.
While Sarma did not explicitly name the MP, the remarks were widely interpreted as directed at Gaurav Gogoi, the Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha and one of the four nominated parliamentarians. The CM alleged that Gogoi should be excluded from such a sensitive diplomatic mission "in the interest of national security."
Sarma has repeatedly targeted Gogoi over alleged ties to Pakistan, citing his British wife Elizabeth Colburn. The chief minister claimed that Gogoi had spent 15 days in Pakistan without notifying authorities, and alleged that Colburn had received a salary from a Pakistan-based NGO while working in India. Gogoi has dismissed these allegations.
Posting on social media platform X, Sarma stated, "One of the MPs named in the list (from Assam) has not denied his prolonged stay in Pakistan—reportedly for two weeks—and credible documents show that his wife was drawing salary from a Pakistan-based NGO while working in India."
“In the interest of national security and beyond partisan politics, I urge leader of opposition Sri Rahul Gandhi not to include this individual in such a sensitive and strategic assignment,” he added.
Sarma’s remarks came in response to a social media post by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who confirmed that the party had nominated four MPs — Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Raja Brar — for the all-party delegations being formed after Operation Sindoor.
The Congress stated that the government had requested names for these delegations as part of a diplomatic outreach to explain India’s stance on cross-border terrorism.
