Days after being appointed as the Assam Congress president, Lok Sabha deputy leader of the party Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday responded to allegations made by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma about his visit to Pakistan, saying he had gone there in 2013 and that it was related to his wife’s professional work. Speaking to the media at the Congress office in Delhi, Gogoi said, “About 14-15 years ago, my wife, a well-known public policy expert, worked on an international project in South Asia focusing on climate change. She spent one year in Pakistan before returning to India around 2012-13… she took a job in India in 2015.” “Around 2013, I remember going with her once. This subject is being used to defame me by the ruling party. This is because their daily bread is defaming someone. With this subject, they are making a C-grade cinema, which they have announced to release on September 10. This is going to prove a flop. The people of Assam know,” said Gogoi. Gogoi further asked that “if my wife and I have done any wrong, gone against the law or engaged in any illegal activity, then who was at the Centre back then, 11-12 years ago… What were the Central government and its probe agencies doing all this time?” Meanwhile, Sarma Wednesday alleged Gogoi's British wife was collecting intelligence documents on behalf of the Pakistani climate lobby. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Sarma said his government has documentary evidence to back up the allegation about Gogoi and his wife's close ties with Pakistan, and he will reveal everything by September 10. Talking about Gogoi, Sarma said, “He is a Pakistani agent. Their entire relationship was with Pakistani establishment. They maintained it till around 2017-18.” With PTI inputs
