Gaurav Gogoi Denies Assam CM's Claims, Terms ISI Allegations 'Laughable'

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has strongly rejected allegations made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, accusing his British wife, Elizabeth Colburn, of having links with the Pakistani spy agency ISI.

Terming the accusations “laughable", Gogoi said that if his wife is an ISI agent, then he is a R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing) agent. He retorted, "If my wife is an ISI agent of Pakistan, then I am a R&AW agent of India. I don't mind if a family against whom there are various cases and several allegations makes accusations against me. The Assam chief minister is making these allegations only to divert attention from the allegations against him."

Addressing the smear campaign, Gogoi noted that such accusations were not new. He said, “The BJP has no issue and resorts to these baseless allegations. It conducted the same smear campaign against me and my family before the Lok Sabha polls last year, and the people of Jorhat parliamentary constituency replied (to it) by electing me.”

Gogoi also criticized Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, suggesting the latter’s fear of losing his position ahead of the 2026 Assam assembly elections. "Fearing that he might lose his chair, he is trying to divert attention by launching a smear campaign against me and my family… The assembly election is still a year away but it seems that the BJP is on a shaky ground with people losing faith in the party due to which it has launched this attack on me," Gogoi said.

The Congress MP’s remarks came after Himanta Sarma accused his wife of having ties with Pakistan and the ISI, demanding clarification on the matter, which they deemed related to national security. Taking to X, CM Sarma posted a picture of Gogoi at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, where he was allegedly invited in 2015 to discuss India-Pakistan relations. He questioned the intent behind this meeting, pointing out that Gogoi, at the time, was not a member of the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs.