'Gaurav went to Rawalpindi without visa, so he was state guest': Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on February 10 alleged that Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi travelled to Rawalpindi during a 2013 Pakistan visit without a valid visa, claiming this amounted to an “admission” that he was a “state guest” in the neighbouring country.

Sarma said Gogoi had a visa for Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad but not for Rawalpindi. “Gogoi has himself said that he went to Rawalpindi. And since he went without visa, he must have gone in a car of the Pakistan army or the police,” Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of an official event in Bongaigaon. “If he has gone without visa, it means he was a state guest. He revealed it before I could do it, and that video clip is enough to be presented in court,” he added.

The remarks follow Gogoi’s statement on Monday that his general passport—submitted to the Centre when he obtained a diplomatic passport after becoming an MP in 2014—has “all details” of his travel during the 2013 trip.

As the Assembly elections approach, Sarma and Gogoi have been locked in a verbal exchange, with the Chief Minister alleging that the Congress leader and his family have Pakistani links. Sarma has sought a “transparent explanation” from Gogoi over a visit to Takshashila in Rawalpindi district.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Gogoi said he visited Takshashila with his wife during a 10-day trip to Pakistan in December 2013, and that the visit was undertaken “with due permission”. Takshashila is an ancient centre of higher learning located near Rawalpindi.

Gogoi said his wife, Elizabeth Colburn, had been posted in Islamabad for a year in 2012 before moving to New Delhi, and that the couple’s visit shortly after their marriage was related to her work. Rejecting Sarma’s charge, Gogoi said the Chief Minister was “floundering and sinking in his own web of lies”.