GUWAHATI, Feb 21: Leader of the Opposition in Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, on Friday urged Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to promptly disclose any information he has on Pakistani citizen Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, especially if it pertains to national security issues.
Saikia also demanded that BJP central leaders Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh be held accountable for Sheikh’s alleged involvement in anti-India activities, as claimed by Sarma, particularly since the saffron party has been in power.
Assam Police on Monday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe a case against Sheikh for his social media comments about the state and India’s internal affairs.
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Sheikh, an advisor to the Pakistan Planning Commission and a former colleague of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s British wife Elizabeth Colburn, was charged under various sections of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The Assam CM and the BJP have been attacking Gogoi, the deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, over his wife’s alleged connection with Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.
On Thursday, Sarma told the Assembly that preliminary investigation found that Sheikh visited India 18 times to date. He also claimed that initial information in the case is “very fatal” for the Congress and will have a “huge impact” on the politics of Assam.
Hitting out at the CM, Saikia said, “The chief minister shouldn’t make such statements in the Assembly. If he has information concerning national security, he should reveal it immediately. Why wait for September, when the state will be under floods.”
“If he doesn’t want to make information public, he can share it with the central government, NIA, SIB, or other agencies,” Saikia said.
The Congress leader further pointed out that Sheikh visited India multiple times during BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
“All Pakistani nationals are not terrorists, but if someone with doubtful credentials visited India several times when BJP was in power, then their leaders like Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah must be made answerable,” he added. (PTI)
