‘No evidence, only allegations’: Gaurav Gogoi slams CM Himanta after SIT press conference

Assam Congress on February 8, launched a sharp counterattack on Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma following his press conference on the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report, claiming that the CM failed to present any concrete evidence to substantiate allegations of Pakistani links involving Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and his family.

In a statement, the Assam Congress described the Chief Minister’s nearly two-and-a-half-hour-long press conference as a “complete anti-climax”, alleging that despite high expectations and the presence of national media from New Delhi, no proof was produced to support the claims.

Addressing reporters, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi said the Chief Minister’s presentation had turned into a “super flop”.
“For nearly two and a half hours, the Chief Minister tried to sell his flop film to the people. Even after all this time, he failed to convince journalists. Forget evidence, he could not even answer their questions properly,” Gogoi said.

He questioned why the SIT report, submitted on September 10, had remained pending for nearly six months before being placed before the Cabinet on February 7.

“If the issue was so serious, why did the Chief Minister sit on the report for six months? Why was it buried all this time? Now that elections are approaching, and after we raised the issue of 12,000 bighas of land allegedly linked to the Chief Minister’s family, he has suddenly chosen to bring out this report,” Gogoi alleged.

Claiming that the Congress had already placed evidence related to the land issue in the public domain, Gogoi said, “Within three days, we produced documents related to 3,000 bighas of land. On the other hand, today’s press conference made it clear that the Chief Minister has no information at all.”

He further claimed that the Congress possesses documentary evidence regarding the alleged 12,000 bighas of land and said details were being uploaded by the public on the ‘Who is Himanta Biswa Sarma’ website.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Assam, Jitendra Singh, also criticised the Chief Minister for making allegations against former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s family, including his daughter-in-law and an eight-year-old child.

“Politics is one thing, but making baseless personal allegations against a respected family is deeply reprehensible. Everyone in Assam knows Tarun Gogoi’s contribution to Himanta Biswa Sarma’s political career,” Singh said.

Former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora termed the press conference a “super flop” and questioned the credibility of the SIT.
“The Chief Minister himself admitted that the SIT could investigate only about 20 per cent of the alleged Pakistan link. If this was a national security issue, why did the government remain silent for six months?” Bora asked.

Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia said the press conference had lowered the dignity of the Chief Minister’s office, while Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur alleged that people were “fed up with the Chief Minister’s theatrics”.

APCC Media and Communications Department chairman Bedabrat Bora described the delayed press conference as an “anti-climax” that had undermined the credibility of the government before the national media.

(Inputs from ANI)