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GUWAHATI: Hours after Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma denied Congress allegations regarding his wife allegedly holding multiple passports and properties abroad, Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi on Monday challenged the BJP leader to deny the claims under oath on the Bhagavad Gita.
Speaking to reporters after an election rally in Raha, the Assam Congress president asked whether Sarma was hiding assets and business interests abroad while spreading \u201cfalsehoods\u201d about political rivals.
A day after Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Gogoi sought to know whether Sarma\u2019s wife has three foreign passports, owns property in Dubai, has companies in the US, or has placed assets in shell companies, the chief minister on Monday morning claimed that the charges were concocted using false information from a Pakistani social media group.
\u201cI told this yesterday, and I am again repeating it now \u2013 I can say under an oath on the Bhagavad Gita that I don\u2019t have any property in London as alleged by Sarma. Can he do that? I challenge him to come to a common place and to do the same under an oath on the Bhagavad Gita,\u201d Gogoi said.
He asserted that if such properties were not declared in the election affidavit, Sarma could not now accept their existence, as it would lead to the cancellation of his candidature.
\u201cThe questions are simple \u2013 does your wife possess a Golden Visa for Dubai? Do you or any family member own property there? Is the Golden visa on an Indian passport? Does any family member of Himanta Biswa Sarma operate a business in a foreign country? \u201cHas Himanta Biswa Sarma disclosed his or his family\u2019s wealth and properties abroad in his election affidavit? Sarma should welcome an investigation if he has nothing to hide,\u201d Gogoi said.
He asserted that if the Congress comes to power in Assam, it would pursue investigations into Sarma\u2019s alleged undisclosed foreign holdings and business operations.
\u201cLegal action will be taken against all illegal properties, businesses and networks linked to him,\u201d the deputy leader of Congress in Lok Sabha said.
At a news conference in Guwahati in the morning, Sarma said these charges have been made to influence the poll results, which is \u201cpunishable under the law\u201d.
He also alleged that the documents the Congress used to make the allegations against his wife were sourced from a social media group \u201cPakistanis in Ajman\u201d, and her photo was morphed on a lost passport of a person from that country.
The CM said his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma has filed a police complaint against Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera against the allegations.
The chief minister had also said it was \u201cunfortunate\u201d that former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi\u2019s son Gaurav Gogoi could \u201cstoop so low\u201d and make such false allegations against his wife.
Khera on Sunday alleged that Sarma\u2019s wife has three passports of the UAE, Egypt and Antigua-Barbuda, two properties in Dubai and assets in shell companies in the US.
Earlier this year, Himanta Biswa Sarma had repeatedly targeted Gogoi over his wife Elizabeth Colburn\u2019s alleged links with Pakistan\u2019s spy agency, ISI. They claimed the Congress MP has \u201cdirect links\u201d with the neighbouring country. Gogoi had slammed Sarma and questioned his mental state due to issues at the home front.
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