Gaurav Gogoi challenges Assam CM to face public scrutiny over land grab claims

Guwahati: Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of attempting to avoid public scrutiny following the party’s recent press conference.

In a statement, Gogoi said the press meet had exposed alleged wrongdoing and claimed that details of the Chief Minister’s wealth and corruption would soon be made public across Assam.

He further challenged the Chief Minister to face the party “in the court of public opinion” instead of evading the issue, stating that transparency and accountability should guide the debate.

Gogoi wrote on X, "It is plain to see Himanta Biswa Sarma has got scared by our press conference today. Soon the details of his corruption and wealth will be made public in every village of Assam. If he has courage he should fight us in the court of public opinion instead of seeking refuge."

The remarks follow a press conference held on Wednesday at the Congress headquarters, Rajiv Bhawan, where Gogoi alleged that Sarma and his family had illegally acquired nearly 12,000 bighas of land, over 3,960 acres, across Assam. He said the claims were based on an internal party investigation and noted that the inquiry is ongoing.

Gogoi also detailed the party’s statewide campaign to trace the sources of the Chief Minister’s assets, including a newly launched website, ‘Who Is HBS’, for public submissions.

He accused Sarma of raising allegations about Gogoi’s supposed links with Pakistan to distract from the land grab claims, calling the Chief Minister’s deflection a “flop show.”

Meanwhile, APCC media department chairman Bedabrata Bora alleged that the party’s website had been briefly hacked, displaying the message “HBS 2.0,” and claimed the BJP’s IT cell was responsible. The BJP has not responded to either the hacking allegation or the land grab claims.