Assam CM Sarma Rebuts Congress Allegations, Claims Pakistani Involvement in Passport Controversy

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has forcefully denied accusations that his wife possesses multiple foreign passports and owns properties in Dubai, claiming the allegations stem from fabricated documents sourced from Pakistani social media.

At a press conference in Guwahati on Monday, Sarma launched a counteroffensive against Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Gaurav Gogoi, who had publicly questioned whether the Chief Minister’s family owns property in Dubai, operates companies in Wyoming, USA, or has hidden assets in shell companies.

“The allegations are completely baseless, based on fabricated documents and with a malicious intent to vitiate the poll atmosphere in the state,” Sarma stated, suggesting the claims were strategically timed to influence the ongoing Assam elections.

In a serious escalation, Sarma claimed that Pakistan was actively attempting to influence Assam’s electoral outcome. “I am concerned that they took the help of Pakistan. This is not a simple fraud case but a crime against the nation,” he said, adding that “the Pakistan angle has become apparent and the law-enforcing agencies will take that into consideration while investigating.”

According to the Chief Minister, documents used by Congress leaders were sourced from a social media group called “Pakistanis in Ajman,” with his wife’s photo allegedly morphed onto passport documents from that country. He specifically mentioned that his wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, has filed a complaint against Khera, expressing confidence that “the police will register the case and take necessary legal action.”

The controversy centers around allegations made by Congress leader Khera on Sunday, who claimed that Sarma’s wife possesses passports from the UAE, Egypt, and Antigua-Barbuda, owns two properties in Dubai, and has assets hidden in shell companies.

Sarma meticulously addressed each allegation, highlighting what he described as obvious inconsistencies in the documents. Regarding the UAE document, he explained that the country issues a Golden Visa—a 10-year renewable residency program for investors and specialized talent—not passports to non-citizens. He claimed the document in question actually belonged to an Egyptian citizen named Ashraf Abdelkader Abelsamad Hussein.

Similarly, Sarma alleged that the purported Egyptian passport belonged to a woman named Nihad Ibrahim Al Sayed Alnaggar, with forged English details but unchanged Arabic text. He pointed to discrepancies in the passport’s formatting, including an unusual designation of birthplace as simply “Indian” rather than a specific city.

The Chief Minister also dismissed allegations about Wyoming-registered companies, demonstrating how easy it is to create such entities by claiming his team had established a mock company called “GauravElizabeth786 Limited Liability LLC” for $199 to prove his point.

In a particularly pointed remark, Sarma expressed disappointment that former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s son, Gaurav Gogoi, would “stoop so low” with such allegations.

The accusations come at a politically sensitive time during the Assam election cycle. Sarma warned that making such claims before polls to influence results constitutes a “criminal offense punishable under law.”

Drawing a historical parallel, Sarma referenced the St. Kitts case—a 1980s conspiracy to frame former Prime Minister V.P. Singh with forged documents suggesting his son held illegal offshore accounts—stating, “They tried this playbook in the St. Kitts case, but those days are over. Any fabrication will be met with the full force of law; my legal team is already at work.”

The controversy highlights the increasingly contentious nature of political discourse in Assam as elections approach, with serious allegations of foreign interference now added to the mix of campaign rhetoric.