Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, whom the ruling BJP has repeatedly accused of being a “Pakistani agent”, has been nominated as the president of the India-Philippines Parliamentary Friendship Group, prompting the Opposition to question the credibility of the allegations against the deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha.
In a two-paragraph letter issued on Monday, the Lok Sabha secretariat informed Gogoi of the group and his nomination as its president “for the period of the 18th Lok Sabha” by Speaker Om Birla.
In a post on its X handle, the Lok Sabha secretariat said Birla had constituted Parliamentary Friendship Groups with more than 60 countries, calling it a “landmark initiative” aimed at deepening legislative dialogue and strengthening structured parliament-to-parliament cooperation. The move, it said, reinforces India’s democratic outreach and complements traditional diplomacy through sustained engagement between elected representatives. It added that the initiative builds upon the Prime Minister Modi’s post–Operation Sindoor multi-party outreach, which underscored bipartisan unity on matters of national interest and security.
“By bringing leaders from different political parties together in structured international engagement, the groups institutionalise this spirit of collective democratic responsibility and shared national purpose,” the secretariat said.
An honour: Opp
The letter has been seized upon by Opposition parties to poke holes in the allegations levelled by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP about Gogoi and his wife Elizabeth Colburn’s alleged links with “enemy country” Pakistan. The development is also seen as a boost for the Congress ahead of the March-April Assembly polls.
Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh said in a post on X that the appointment “constitutes a direct and unequivocal vindication of Shri Gaurav Gogoi’s integrity and parliamentary standing”, adding that the allegations against him had “no substance whatsoever”.
The Assam Jatiya Parishad echoed the sentiment, with its spokesperson Ziaur Rahman saying Gogoi’s appointment “sharply contrasts” with Sarma’s attempts to brand him a “Pakistani agent”. If the allegations had any merit, Rahman said, such a responsibility “would be unthinkable”. He called the nomination not just an honour for Gogoi but “a recognition of Assam’s dignity and representation in Parliament”.
BJP reacts
Reacting on Monday, Sarma said: “He should have been given Pakistan. Had he been given India-Pakistan, it would have done well.” A senior BJP spokesperson dismissed the appointment as a “routine, insignificant” exercise.
It remains unclear whether Sarma will again object to Gogoi’s nomination, as he had last May when he opposed the Congress MP’s inclusion in an MPs’ delegation sent abroad to explain India’s stance on terrorism after Operation Sindoor. Gogoi’s name was dropped despite Congress nominating him.
On February 8, Sarma held a press conference to share the outcome of a special investigation team (SIT) probe into the alleged links between Gogoi, his wife, and Pakistan national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh. He alleged Gogoi took a “secret” 10-day trip to Pakistan in 2013 without informing authorities, claiming the case would be handed over to the ministry of home affairs. The SIT began its probe in February 2025 and submitted its report in September.
Gogoi responded by questioning why Sarma had withheld the SIT report since September if national security was involved. “He could not produce a single piece of evidence,” Gogoi said, adding the SIT “could not bring even one fact” against him.