2 months ago
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Bangladesh has been an predetermination staple successful Assam. Pakistan, the state it was liberated from successful 1971, has debuted arsenic communicative worldly this canvass season.
On Thursday (April 2, 2026), Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma slammed the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) main Lurinjyoti Gogoi for fielding a campaigner linked to ‘anti-national’ elements, including Sharjeel Imam, who had allegedly called for cutting disconnected the northeastern portion from the remainder of the country.
The AJP is simply a constituent of the Congress-led Asom Sonmilito Morcha, the Opposition alliance. The campaigner successful question is 28-year-old Kunki Chowdhury, the London-educated AJP campaigner for the Guwahati Central constituency pitted against Vijay Kumar Gupta of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
More than the candidate, the Chief Minister ranted against her mother, Sujata Gurung Chowdhury, for publically supporting the “anti-India” Mr. Imam and Umar Khalid, some accused successful the 2020 Delhi riots lawsuit and present successful jail. He besides criticised her parent for trashing the cognition that Pakistan was an force nation.
Ms. Chowdhury deed backmost saying Mr. Sarma’s allegations against her parent were “entirely baseless” but thanked him for “letting the full state cognize astir me” by dragging her parent into the electoral rivalry. “The unnecessary contention is moving successful my favour,” she said.
Gogoi’s Pak. ‘link’
During his run for the BJP, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said State Congress president and Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi should travel cleanable connected his sojourn to Pakistan much than a decennary ago. “Such relation with an force State is not appreciated by Indians successful general,” helium said.
Mr. Fadnavis had picked up from wherever his Assam counterpart had near off. On March 31, Mr. Sarma, the BJP’s campaigner from the Jalukbari constituency, attacked Mr. Gogoi implicit alleged discrepancies successful his predetermination affidavit. The second is contesting eastbound Assam’s Jorhat Assembly seat, a constituent of the Jorhat parliamentary constituency helium represents.
The Chief Minister said Mr. Gogoi’s affidavit did not disclose immoderate Pakistani slope account, contempt allegedly referring to specified an relationship during a caller property conference.
“Any specified fiscal details, including those linked to household members, should person been transparently declared successful the affidavit. The omission is simply a superior issue, raising questions astir the accuracy and completeness of the disclosures made by the candidate,” helium said.
Earlier, Mr. Sarma had questioned Mr. Gogoi’s “suspicious” 10-day sojourn to Pakistan successful December 2013 and his British wife, Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi’s nonrecreational stint with a clime organisation successful the neighbouring country.
The Chief Minister had asked the Congress MP to disclose details of his sojourn to Pakistan months earlier helium was elected to the Lok Sabha, during which helium had “uncharacteristically” maintained “digital silence”. The Chief Minister had asked him to marque nationalist a missive allegedly issued by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry, starring to the modification of the itinerary successful his visa.
In 2025, the Chief Minister had a Special Investigation Team of the Assam constabulary formed to probe the Pakistan links of Mr. Gogoi and his wife.
‘Wild theory’
Mr. Gogoi described the allegations arsenic a “wild theory” and said that specified claims bespeak the Chief Minister’s “weakness” connected a delicate contented similar nationalist security. “There is simply a quality betwixt what Himanta Biswa Sarma is saying and what we are saying against him; his is simply a chaotic mentation that exists lone successful his head,” helium said.
Mr. Gogoi said that the Congress’s allegations against the Chief Minister subordinate to family, wealth, corruption, and the favours his wife’s institution were getting from the authorities machinery. “These claims are backed by publically disposable information,” helium added.
Saadulla arsenic canvass material
Pakistan has besides crept into the predetermination communicative done Syed Muhammad Saadulla, the Prime Minister of Assam thrice betwixt September 1938 and February 1946. A subordinate of the All India Muslim League, helium was besides a portion of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution of India.
Saadulla has featured prominently successful the BJP’s poll-oriented communicative astir infiltration and a conspiracy to marque Assam a portion of Pakistan. The enactment has been highlighting however he, arsenic Prime Minister of Assam, encouraged the colony of Muslims from East Bengal successful Assam nether the “grow much food” programme.
“Saadulla failed to marque Assam a portion of Pakistan due to the fact that of the efforts of his successor, Gopinath Bordoloi, who our enactment honoured with the Bharat Ratna posthumously. Congress ne'er gave him the respect Bordoloi deserved, and it is evident why,” a BJP spokesperson said.
The lone different clip Pakistan became an electoral topic, albeit connected a debased scale, was successful 1962, the twelvemonth erstwhile the Assam Police Border Organisation was formed nether the Prevention of Infiltration of Pakistani scheme. This organisation, a helping of the Assam police, was tasked with detecting and detaining Pakistanis who entered India illegally.
The Border constabulary person had a large relation successful sending thousands to detention camps for suspected non-citizens via the Foreigners’ Tribunals successful Assam.
