Himanta Biswa Sarma (L), Gaurav Gogoi.
Credit: PTI Photos
Sivasagar (Assam): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday claimed that the probe against Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi's alleged links with Pakistan has revealed "just one per cent" of a global "conspiracy" to weaken India.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a government function here, Sarma also stressed that the investigation carried out by the Assam Police was not against one individual but against a system.
The CM had earlier stated that Gogoi and his British wife have "direct links with Pakistan".
"It was a very sensitive investigation. We should not look into it from Assam's political perspective only. It is a global conspiracy," he said.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Assam Police probed a case of alleged interference of Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, who was claimed to have links with Gogoi's British wife Elizabeth Colburn, in India's internal affairs.
Sarma said, "It will be wrong to infer that the SIT was against Gaurav Gogoi. It was not only against Gaurav Gogoi, many people were involved in it. How conspiracies are hatched from the US, the UK to weaken India; the Assam Police has done an initial enquiry on this successfully."
"Do not think that it was against one person, the investigation was against a complete system... Whatever we have done is just one per cent, because we could not collect electronic evidence, Indian government's data and could not seek Interpol's cooperation also," he added.
On January 27, Sarma had said the state cabinet on February 7 would take a formal decision on future course of action on the probe report on Gogoi's alleged links with Pakistan, and a press conference will be organised at 10:30 am on February 8 to reveal a part of the SIT findings to the public.
"Whatever I will state on February 8, that is just the beginning. I believe that if the Government of India does a proper investigation, a big conspiracy to weaken our country will be revealed," the CM told reporters in Sivasagar.
On January 29, Sarma had claimed that Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and his British wife are "Pakistani agents", and dared the opposition leader to file a case against him.
The Assam CM and the BJP have been attacking Lok Sabha MP Gogoi over his wife's alleged connection with Pakistan's spy agency ISI. They even claim that the Congress leader has "direct links" with the neighbouring nation.
Sarma had said that Colburn was examined by the SIT sleuths during the course of the investigation, besides quizzing 22-25 more people.
He claimed that Colburn had travelled 19 times between India and Pakistan. The CM alleged that Gogoi had visited Pakistan on an invitation from its spy agency ISI and undergone training there, and that he had worked closely with the establishment of the neighbouring nation.
He also claimed that Colburn was collecting various classified government documents, mainly IB reports, on behalf of the Pakistani climate lobby.
Hitting back, Gogoi had slammed Sarma over his accusation and questioned his mental state due to issues at the home front. He even said the CM's remarks were "ridiculous, baseless, insane and nonsense" and that he was behaving like an "IT cell troll" without talking with facts.