Sarma's inability to show proof to back Pak-link charges is his weakness, claims Gogoi

Guwahati: Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Saturday claimed that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's "inability" to provide evidence to back "Pakistan link" charges against the opposition leader is his "weakness".

Refraining from issuing any clarification on his alleged visits to the neighbouring country, Gogoi said the people should be patient as a "knockout punch is delivered at the end" of a boxing match.

"It was not new (in politics) when the BJP’s IT cell made baseless allegations against me. But when the chief minister of a state says something, we wait for him to give the evidence. There should be some difference between an IT cell troll and the remarks of a chief minister,” Gogoi said while speaking to reporters at Majuli under his Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency.

Sarma and the BJP have been attacking Gogoi, the deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, alleging that he and his British wife, Elizabeth Colburn, have links to Pakistan's ISI.

Stating that Sarma has spoken "elaborately" on the allegations against him, Gogoi said on Saturday, "From day one, we have been asking for evidence. His inability to provide evidence is his weakness." The Congress leader also claimed that the delay in providing proof to support the allegations by the chief minister would "erode people’s trust" in Sarma.

Responding to a query about Sarma's recent remarks that every proof will be presented before the public by September 10, the Congress leader questioned, “Is this a movie where the release date is pre-fixed? Are we watching Singham 1 or Singham 2?” Asked about the allegations against him, Gogoi evaded a direct reply and said, “The knockout punch is delivered at the end (in a boxing match). Everyone has to be patient.” The CM had also alleged that Gogoi had visited Pakistan on an invitation from its spy agency ISI, underwent training there, and worked closely with the establishment of the neighbouring nation.

Countering Sarma's remarks on his alleged visit to Pakistan, Gogoi had said that many senior BJP leaders, too, had earlier gone to the neighbouring country.

The Congress leader had earlier termed the allegations as "ridiculous, baseless and nonsense", claiming that the central government was fully aware of his visit to Pakistan.

Gogoi also claimed that the Congress does "not attach much importance" to what Sarma says.

“We don’t pay much importance to his words, we give importance to what the people say," the Congress MP said.

Gogoi claimed that the BJP and its allies had won the recently held panchayat elections by allegedly threatening people to vote for them or else be deprived of government schemes.

“We are not satisfied with the panchayat results. From the very next day of the results, I have been visiting all parts of Jorhat and meeting our grassroots members,” he said.

Gogoi alleged that it was a fight between Congress candidates and the BJP's propaganda about the state government's schemes.

“The BJP’s campaign was based on the government schemes. The BJP threatened the people that if they didn’t vote for them, the schemes would be cut. We will devise our strategy to tackle such intimidation next time,” he added.