The political war of words has intensified in Assam after chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma seemed to take fresh potshots at Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi without naming him and the opposition party hit back.

Sarma claimed that the minor children of a Member of Parliament from the state are no longer Indian citizens. His statement, made on Thursday on social media platform X, did not name anyone directly.

“I say this with full responsibility — the minor children of one Member of Parliament from Assam are no longer citizens of India. But this is just the beginning. There is much more yet to be revealed,” Sarma wrote.

The post was widely interpreted as a veiled reference to Congress MP Gogoi, who has been in Sarma’s crosshairs frequently in recent weeks. On April 28, Sarma said that he has “clear evidence” of Gogoi’s visits to Pakistan and Nepal, adding, “this information would be made public before September.”

The Congress's Kerala unit quoted Sarma’s latest post on X on Friday, saying: “Dear Himanta BS, Are you talking about Dr S Jaishankar's two children? Or is it Piyush Goyal's children? Hardeep Singh Puri's or Sudha Murthy's? Be specific while making such big allegations against people in your own party.”

The Congress had filed police complaints against Sarma on Thursday for what the party called derogatory remarks he made about women during the recent panchayat poll campaign. In protest against a statement made on April 28, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) submitted complaints at district headquarters across the state.

Gogoi also responded with a post on X on Friday. “Without taking any responsibility the chief minister of Assam in his recent remarks has cast aspersions and doubts on the morality of Assamese women. This only reflects the mindset of BJP towards women. Congress will fight for the dignity of women,” he wrote.