Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has intensified his attacks on Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, though without directly naming him, over allegations concerning his wife, Elizabeth Colburn.
The controversy revolves around her retaining UK citizenship for 12 years and alleged ties to an organization linked to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI.
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However, the timing of CM Sarma’s attack has raised eyebrows, as it comes amid speculation that the Congress high command is considering handing over the responsibility of managing the party’s election affairs in Assam to Gaurav Gogoi.
The Congress leader, who currently serves as the deputy leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, is likely to play a key role in strategizing for the 2026 Assam Assembly elections. This has led many to question whether Sarma’s sudden offensive is politically motivated.
Interestingly, the allegations brought up by CM Sarma date back more than a decade, yet they are being resurfaced at a crucial political juncture. In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Sarma accused Gogoi of meeting the then Pakistani High Commissioner in 2015, despite India’s objections at the time. Additionally, Sarma alleged that Gogoi’s wife, Elizabeth Colburn, worked for an organization linked to ISI, with her tenure at the Climate Development and Knowledge Network (CDKN) between 2011 and 2015 being scrutinized.
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CM Sarma further claimed that Colburn worked under Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, a former adviser to the Planning Commission of Pakistan, and questioned why she had not opted for Indian citizenship even after 12 years of marriage.
“Serious questions need to be answered regarding allegations of ISI links, leading young individuals to the Pakistan embassy for brainwashing and radicalization, and the refusal to take Indian citizenship for the past 12 years,” Sarma tweeted.
The Assam Chief Minister also highlighted the existing rules for Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers, stating that they are allowed to marry foreign nationals only on the condition that the spouse acquires Indian citizenship within six months. He questioned why the same standards should not apply to lawmakers, emphasizing that “loyalty to the nation must always take precedence over all considerations.”
Taking the attack a step further, Sarma linked Colburn’s former employer, CDKN, to funding from the Open Society Foundation, an initiative by American billionaire George Soros. The BJP has repeatedly accused Congress of having ties with Soros, claiming his involvement in efforts to destabilize the Indian government.
“Additionally, participation in a conversion cartel and receiving funds from external sources, including George Soros, to destabilize national security are grave concerns that cannot be ignored,” Sarma alleged.
Elizabeth Colebourn, who was born in the United Kingdom, holds a Master’s in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics (LSE). She married Gaurav Gogoi in 2013.
According to her author profile on the CDKN website (where her last article was published in 2014), she coordinated CDKN’s program in India and Nepal. The profile further states that she joined CDKN in March 2011 with a background in climate change and development policy-making and research. Her prior experience includes work in the European Parliament on the 2009 EU Climate Change Package negotiations, research at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) focusing on EU development cooperation, and experience working in the US Senate, UN Secretariat, and for NGOs in Tanzania and South Africa.
On Thursday, Sarma intensified his criticism of Gogoi by bringing up his 2015 visit to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, where he met the then High Commissioner Abdul Basit. The Chief Minister questioned why Gogoi, who was not a member of the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs at the time, had attended such a meeting.
He also linked the incident to Gogoi’s behavior in Parliament, suggesting that the Congress leader had an increasing interest in sensitive defense matters.
“Soon after, his startup published an article in The Hindu criticizing the Border Security Force’s handling of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. A closer examination of his parliamentary questions revealed a growing focus on sensitive defense matters, including inquiries about Coast Guard radar installations, India’s arms factories, aeronautical defense, transit routes for trade with Iran, Kashmiri students, and alleged attacks on churches—marking a noticeable shift in his areas of interest,” Sarma said.
Gaurav Gogoi, the Congress’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, has dismissed allegations linking his wife to the ISI as “laughable,” calling them a “smear campaign” against him ahead of the 2026 Assam election.
Political observers believe Sarma’s sudden aggression against Gogoi is not a coincidence. Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi has a significant political base in upper Assam and enjoys strong support from the Ahom community, which plays a decisive role in several key constituencies. If the Congress party projects Gogoi as its chief ministerial candidate for the 2026 elections, it could pose a serious challenge to Sarma’s dominance in upper Assam.
Despite multiple efforts, Sarma has struggled to make deep inroads in upper Assam, an area where Congress continues to hold considerable influence. His inability to defeat Gogoi in the Jorhat constituency in the last Lok Sabha elections despite an all-out campaign further highlights the Congress leader’s stronghold in the region. Sarma had personally led BJP’s campaign in Jorhat, turning the contest into a prestige battle, yet Gogoi emerged victorious.
During the campaign, Sarma spearheaded numerous rallies and public meetings to bolster BJP’s chances. He even took a swipe at Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s visit to Jorhat, saying, “People would rather see the rhinos in Kaziranga than attend her rallies.” Despite his aggressive campaign, the Congress retained Jorhat, reinforcing the party’s grip over the constituency.
Historically, Jorhat has been a Congress stronghold, previously represented by the late Tarun Gogoi, Gaurav’s father. Although Gaurav Gogoi had to switch constituencies due to the recent delimitation exercise, his political clout remains intact.
While Sarma has always maintained a degree of respect for Tarun Gogoi, their political rivalry is well-documented. It was Sarma’s long-standing conflict with the senior Gogoi that ultimately led him to leave the Congress and join the BJP in 2015.
In 2023, Gaurav Gogoi accused CM Sarma of leveraging his influence to obtain approval for a Rs 10 crore grant under a Central government scheme for a media company owned by his wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma. In response, Riniki filed a Rs 10 crore defamation lawsuit against Gogoi.
With Assam’s next assembly elections on the horizon, the political battle between Sarma and Gogoi is expected to intensify further.