“Today, I have filed a defamation case seeking ₹500 crore in damages against Congress leaders Jitendra Singh, Bhupesh Baghel and Gaurav Gogoi for making false, malicious and defamatory allegations against me through a press conference,” Sarma said in a tweet on X (formerly Twitter).
A day earlier, Sarma had announced the initiation of both civil and criminal defamation proceedings. “I am initiating civil and criminal defamation proceedings on 9 February 2026 against @JitendraSAlwar, @bhupeshbaghel, @GauravGogoiAsm and @DsaikiaOfficial for making false, malicious and defamatory statements against me in today’s press conference. The era of hit-and-run politics is over. If they have even an ounce of courage or evidence, let them prove every allegation before a court of law. I will not be intimidated by propaganda, coordinated slander, or political theatrics of so-called slaves of Gandhi family,” he had tweeted.
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The move comes amid a major political controversy triggered by Sarma’s claims regarding Gogoi’s alleged links to Pakistan. On February 9, during a press conference, Sarma alleged that Gogoi, his British wife Elizabeth Colburn, and Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh had a “deeper connection” and that intelligence information had allegedly been passed to Pakistan.
Congress leaders quickly hit back. All India Congress Committee General Secretary (in-charge of Assam) Jitendra Singh condemned the allegations, saying, “The CM appeared to have lost his mental balance and had no documentary evidence to support his claims. Politics is one thing, but making baseless allegations against a respected family at a personal level is extremely reprehensible.”
Singh also highlighted the contribution of former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in Sarma’s political career. “After betraying Tarun Gogoi for power, the CM has now been levelling serial allegations against Gogoi for the past year. The Gogoi family treated Himanta with dignity, made him an MLA and a minister. The smear campaign he is now running against the family of a father figure is deeply unfortunate,” he added.The Congress pointed out that despite constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in February 2025 to probe Sheikh’s social media comments, the Assam government had failed to substantiate any claims. Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, described the SIT report and Sarma’s press conference as a “flop show” and accused the CM of lowering the dignity of his own office.
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Former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora echoed the criticism, calling Sarma’s press conference a “super flop” and noting that the SIT could investigate only 20% of the alleged Pakistan link. “By accepting his own incompetence, Sarma has now pushed the matter to the central government,” Bora said. He also questioned the delay, asking, “If Gogoi had travelled to Pakistan in 2013, and if the matter was so serious, why did neither the Modi government nor the investigating agencies act after 2014? Did it take 12 years to realise this?”
Bora further mocked Sarma’s allegations, saying, “Sarma had imagined detonating an ‘atom bomb’ against Gogoi, but what emerged was not even a ‘chocolate bomb’. Despite having an SIT, they neither filed an FIR nor a chargesheet simply because there was no evidence.”
Congress’ media and publicity head Pawan Khera accused Sarma of using communal rhetoric for electoral gains. “As soon as elections approached, he started talking about Muslims, Miyan, and Pakistan. Such baseless allegations by Sarma show that he has lost his mental balance,” Khera said.
Other Congress leaders, icluding All India Mahila Congress President Alka Lamba, Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur, and APCC media chairman Bedabrat Bora, slammed the CM for attempting to mislead the public, calling his six-month delayed SIT press conference an “anti-climax” that undermined the dignity of the CM’s office.
On Sunday, Sarma had termed Gogoi a “key player” in an anti-India network and alleged his wife was a Pakistani “agent,” leaving it to the “people’s court” to judge Gogoi’s activities against the country.
With inputs from PTI
