Have Many Photos With Maulanas, Can Provide Pawan Khera With Some: Assam CM

On the back of Congress leader Pawan Khera sharing a purported photo of Himanta Biswa Sarma with a Bangladesh-linked ‘Maulana’, the Assam Chief Minister on Wednesday hit back, saying that he was asked to meet Maulanas when he was with the Congress.

Sarma said that it was a case of the arrow boomeranging back to hurt the Congress. Claiming that he has hundreds of photographs with Maulanas and he can provide Khera with some, he said, “When I was in Congress, I had lots of photographs with Maulanas. During the Congress period, it was a practice. We used to go, and we used to have photographs. Regularly, my photographs with Maulanas, when I was in Congress, are put up by Congress on social media. They are doing it; what is wrong with that?”

Targeting the Congress, the Assam Chief Minister said, “That person came to Assam and visited Tarun Gogoi. Even Gaurav Gogoi visited him twice in a residence at Machkhowa. Let Pawan Khera post that. They always tell you half the story. Let them deny that this person did not go to Tarun Gogoi’s residence.”

Sarma said that while most leaders delete their old social media posts after joining from Congress to the BJP or the other way round, he is the only leader not to do so. “I am the only person who has not deleted my old posts, and sometimes Congress dig up my old posts. But, I have kept my old pictures on social media intentionally so that after my death, people can see what kind of a person I was,” he said, adding, “These are from my Facebook posts only, and whenever I have gone to Bangladesh, I always post photographs; what is there to hide.”

“I went to Shah Jalal Dargah; I posted photographs. I used to go to Ajmer Dargah; I used to post photographs. I used to go to Nizamuddin Dargah, and today also, I have nothing against Sufism. I have gone to Ajan Pir Dargah. What is wrong with that?” he questioned, slamming the Congress. “That means Congress is saying that the BJP should not have any relationship with Muslim intellectuals. What does Pawan Khera want to indicate? Let him tell me what he wants to mean; then I will answer him,” the Chief Minister concluded.

Notably, Khera had posted on X that he received a photograph showing Sarma with Chistia Saidia Darbar Sharif in Dhaka, claiming the cleric had connections with the pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami-led coalition and Aalia Madrasa. He questioned why the meeting had not been disclosed proactively if there was “nothing suspicious” about it.

Funny coincidence.

I’ve been sent a photo of @himantabiswa with Dewan Muhammad Saidur Rahman Chisti Saidabadi - the head of Chistia Saidia Darbar Sharif in Dhaka, which also runs the Aalia Madrasa.

And that’s not all.

Dewan Sahab is linked with the Jamaat-e-Islami–led… pic.twitter.com/fIxicxbvEJ

— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) February 10, 2026

Assam Politics Heating Up Before Polls

The row comes amid heightened political attacks between the BJP and Congress ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections. Earlier, Sarma had alleged that Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi’s wife, Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi, had links to Pakistan, a claim the Congress leader dismissed as “mindless and bogus.”

In the ongoing dispute, Sarma announced that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged Pakistan links involving Gaurav Gogoi and his wife would be transferred to a central agency. He described the move as a “significant step in exposing a broader Pakistan-linked network aimed at destabilising India through proxy actors.”

Gaurav Gogoi responded by accusing Sarma of lowering political discourse and disclosed personal information about his family. He claimed the Chief Minister was unfit for office, stating, “He has proved that he is not the right person to be in the Chief Minister’s chair. What they are saying has shamed Assam. Why are they spreading false information? The Supreme Court should take suo-motu cognisance of this.”

Gogoi also alleged that Sarma’s family illegally holds 12,000 bighas (nearly 4,000 acres) of land across Assam. While he agreed to cooperate with the SIT investigation, he demanded that the findings be made public. He further accused the Chief Minister of acting only after the Congress revealed the alleged land holdings.

In a related development, Sarma filed a defamation suit seeking Rs 500 crore in damages against Gaurav Gogoi, Congress General Secretary Jitendra Singh, and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, alleging they made “false” and “malicious” claims against him.