NEW DELHI: After referring to him as “bachcha” (a kid), Assam’s firebrand chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday alluded that Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi refused to transfer his ailing father Tarun Gogoi, to Delhi for better treatment, which led to his death.
Sarma, who earlier worked under the former chief minister, made the revelations while denouncing Gaurav’s allegations that the media company of the CM’s wife illicitly received ₹10 crore in government benefits.
Gaurav, the deputy leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, cited a Central government report to allege that Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma’s Pride East Entertainments Private Limited received a government subsidy of ₹10 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana.
In response to the allegations, the Hindutva icon of the Northeast defended his wife, stating, “I would like to reiterate with full responsibility that my wife and the company she is associated with have not taken or received any subsidies from the Government of India.”
Sarma further challenged anyone to provide evidence to the contrary and stated his willingness to accept any punishment, including retiring from public life, if proven guilty.
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However, the feud between the chief Minister and Gaurav took a deeply personal turn. Sarma’s social media post alluded to the passing of Tarun Gogoi, Assam’s former Chief Minister and Gaurav Gogoi’s father, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sarma claimed that despite the state government’s offer to cover expenses and provide better treatment in Delhi, Gaurav Gogoi refused to transfer his father to the capital.
In response to this personal jibe, Gaurav Gogoi shared an old video of his late father, in which Tarun Gogoi referred to Himanta Biswa Sarma as someone who had betrayed him, saying, “I have never met a person who could touch my feet and put a dagger in my back at the same time.”
The animosity between Sarma and Gogoi family traces back to 2010 when the former was a prominent Congress leader. However, differences emerged when Sarma was seen as a potential successor to Tarun Gogoi, leading to a rift that eventually culminated in Sarma’s defection to the BJP in 2015. Sarma played a pivotal role in the BJP’s electoral victories in Assam in 2016 and 2021.