Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma lodged a defamation lawsuit seeking Rs 500 crore in damages against Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi, Jitendra Singh, and Bhupesh Baghel, calling their allegations against him “false, malicious, and defamatory.”
Himanta shared this information on social media platform X, saying, “Today, I have filed a defamation case seeking Rs 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.”
Just a day before, Himanta had announced that he is initiating 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.
The move follows a major political row sparked by Himanta’s allegations about Gogoi’s purported ties to Pakistan. At a press conference on February 9, Himanta claimed that Gogoi, his British wife Elizabeth Colburn, and Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh shared a “deeper connection,” and alleged that intelligence-related information had been passed to Pakistan.
Congress leaders blatantly reacted over Himanta’s claim. All India Congress Committee General Secretary (Assam in-charge) 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.”
Jitendra Singh also noted about the contribution of ex Assam CM Tarun Gogoi in Himanta Biswa Sarma’s political career.
He further said, “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.”
The Congress noted that although a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed in February 2025 to examine Sheikh’s social media posts, the Assam government had not been able to back its allegations with evidence. Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, termed both the SIT report and Sarma’s press conference a “flop show,” and accused the chief minister of undermining the dignity of his own office.
Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera alleged that Sarma was resorting to communal rhetoric to gain electoral advantage. “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.
Several other Congress leaders also slammed Assam CM for his attempt to mislead the public.
On Sunday, Sarma described Gogoi as a “key player” in an anti-India network and claimed that his wife was a Pakistani “agent,” stating that it was up to the “people’s court” to assess Gogoi’s actions against the nation.
