Countering the Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s remarks against him, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday said many Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including party stalwart LK Advani, visited the neighbouring country and even eulogised Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Gaurav Gogoi also said even Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lahore “to attend the birthday celebration” of former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Earlier, on Sunday, Himanta Sarma had accused Gaurav Gogoi of visiting Pakistan on an invitation by its spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), accusing the Congress leader of working closely with the establishment of the neighbouring country.
“Many BJP leaders visited Pakistan over the years. L K Advani visited Pakistan in 2005 and offered a ‘chadar’ at the grave of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He even eulogised Jinnah,” Gogoi said.
Responding Sarma’s remarks, Gogoi also referred to Modi’s visit to Lahore in 2015 and former external affairs minister late Jaswant Singh’s book on Jinnah. He said the Modi government even “invited a Pakistani team to conduct an inquiry into the terror attack at the Pathakot air base. The team had an ISI officer”.
Gaurav Gogoi clarifies on Pakistan visit
Providing a clarification on his visit to the Pakistan high commission in Delhi along with a delegation of youth in 2015, the Congress leader said the claim of Sarma, that the Indian youth were “brainwashed”, was a “big lie”. He added that the Indian government was already aware of his visit to Pakistan, as he even deposited a copy of his passport.
Gogoi said the youth grilled the then Pakistan high commissioner on Pakistan’s links with terrorists. “I wrote articles saying I had no faith in the Pakistani establishment since its army had close links with terrorists. I also wrote that Pakistan’s military, intelligence agencies and terrorists had a close nexus,” Gogoi said further.
Claiming to be ready for a probe by SIT and the Assam government for his alleged Pakistan links through his wife Elizabeth Colburn, Gogoi said, “Why do you need to wait till September?”
“The chief minister has a habit of telling thousands of lie. He also did not give details of his own visit to Bangladesh,” Gogoi said.
Meanwhile, Sarma said the government has “documentary evidence” which will be presented to the public by September 10 after proper verification.