Guwahati, Feb 8 Assam Congress chief and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday hit out at Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over the press conference, levelling grave allegations against him, calling it "worse than a C-grade cinema".
CM Sarma stated that the allegations concerning Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh and Elizabeth Gogoi, who is the spouse of Deputy Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, are of a very serious nature and should not be regarded as a trivial issue.
Addressing reporters, CM Sarma said the involvement of a sitting Member of Parliament elevated the issue beyond the purview of a routine investigation.
"These are grave allegations. When a sitting MP, who is also the Deputy Leader of the Congress party in Parliament, is linked to Pakistan in any manner, the matter automatically assumes greater significance," the Chief Minister said.
Reacting to this, Gogoi took to X and said, "I pity the journalists from Delhi and Assam who had to suffer the most flop press conference of the century. This was worse than a C grade cinema. Most mindless and bogus points offered by the so called political shrewd Chief Minister."
"This Super Flop is in contrast to our Xomoy Parivartan Yatra which has been a hit in uncovering the 12,000 bighas of land occupied by the Chief Minister and his family members," he added.
CM Sarma revealed that the case was initially examined by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Assam Police. Based on the findings of the SIT, a formal case was subsequently registered at the CID police station for further inquiry.
According to the Chief Minister, the SIT submitted its report to the state government, following which the matter was placed before the Assam Cabinet. After deliberations, the Cabinet concluded that the scope, sensitivity and wider implications of the allegations necessitated an investigation by a central agency.
CM Sarma said the issue came to light after a photograph went viral on social media showing Gogoi accompanying a group of youths to the Pakistan Embassy.
According to the Chief Minister, Abdul Basit, who was serving as Pakistan's High Commissioner to India at the time, was also present during the interaction that happened in 2015.
CM Sarma said such an engagement could not be treated as a routine or innocuous event, given the "sensitive and adversarial" nature of India's relationship with Pakistan.
According to the Chief Minister, once the authenticity of the photograph was established, the matter could no longer be viewed in isolation.
He said this prompted the authorities to widen the scope of the inquiry. He maintained the state government was duty-bound to examine all aspects of the matter thoroughly, particularly when questions of national interest and public representatives were involved.
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