Police books Pak expert on Assam CM Himanta Sarma's direction
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Assam Police booked a prominent Pakistani climate policy expert who Elizabeth Gogoi, the wife of Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, had previously worked with.
Guwahati: Following Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s statement on Sunday that he had directed the Director General of Police in the state to file a case for “explicit involvement” in “India’s internal affairs”, the Assam Police booked a prominent Pakistani climate policy expert who Elizabeth Gogoi, the wife of Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, had previously worked with, The Indian Express reported.
Last week, Himanta Sarma and some BJP leaders questioned Elizabeth’s foreign citizenship and accused her of having ties with the ISI. Also, they questioned why Gaurav had a meeting with the Pakistani High Commissioner to India in 2015.
Elizabeth Gogoi, a British citizen working in the field of climate policy, worked in Pakistan for some time during her stint with the Climate Development and Knowledge Network (CDKN), Asia, between 2011 and 2015.
Sarma wrote X, in reference to Gogoi’s wife, Elizabeth Gogoi, who is originally from the UK and works in climate policy, that Indian Foreign Services officers require permission from the Union government to marry foreigners and commit to their spouses acquiring Indian citizenship, The Indian Express reported.
He wrote, “However, allowing a foreign spouse of a lawmaker to retain foreign citizenship for 12 years is far too long. Loyalty to the nation must always take precedence over all considerations.”
Gogoi, laughing off the allegations, told reporters on Wednesday that he trusts the conscience of the public.
“Normally, these kinds of things emerge close to elections. Last time, when I was contesting for the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat, these questions started coming about a month before the elections. ‘Why did he marry a woman from another country? Could he not find a woman in Assam?’ These ‘masala’ things come up around elections.
On Sunday, he said that the BJP was targeting him and his wife. The disinformation Assam BJP is spreading now proves the party’s weakness, the Congress leaders said.