Himanta Biswa Sarma slams Gaurav Gogoi's silence, calls wedding gifts 'mode of corruption'

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, alleging that it has "taught officers a new way of corruption" by using weddings as a means to receive illicit gifts. 

Addressing the Assembly, CM Sarma particularly targeted Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, questioning his silence on the report of the Biplab Kumar Sarma Committee regarding the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) scam which revealed that the Congress MP acknowledged gold ornaments from Paul worth Rs 3 lakh.

CM Sarma revealed that the state government has sought clarification from the Income Tax Department on whether the wedding gifts received by Gaurav Gogoi from former APSC chairman Rakesh Paul were declared. 

"The most important question is—it's been more than 20 days since the committee's report was released, yet Gaurav Gogoi has not said a single word on social media about whether the findings are right or wrong," he stated.

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"If someone can make Rakesh Paul the APSC chairman for ten years and accept gold ornaments as wedding gifts, then it is a prima facie case of corruption—unless denied. And MP Gaurav Gogoi has not denied it," CM Sarma added.

Criticizing Congress and Raijor Dal chief, Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi, CM Sarma pointed out that both had defended wedding gifts, arguing that such offerings cannot be quantified as corruption. "This means that if you want to do corruption, just organize a wedding in your family," he remarked sarcastically.

"Congress has a well-defined rulebook for corruption, and now they have taught our officers a new trick—don’t make money anywhere else, do it at weddings. The Congress has been coaching people on how to commit corruption, and now they are giving these tricks to the public as well," CM Sarma said.

His remarks have intensified the political debate in Assam, reigniting discussions over the deep-rooted corruption allegations linked to the APSC scandal.