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Congress accuses Himanta Sarma of ‘hiding property in Dubai, company in US’; Assam CM rebuts, says ‘Pawan Khera will spend last days in jail’

Statesman News Service

Passport row: ‘Pawan Khera should surrender,’ says Assam CM Himanta Sarma after SC denies bail relief to Congress leader


A fresh political fight broke out in Assam after the Congress accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of concealing Dubai properties linked to his wife and a company in the United States, prompting a furious response from the BJP leader, who called the claims fake and threatened legal action against Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera.

The row has erupted just days before Assam votes on April 9, pushing a bitter personal and political slugfest to the centre of the campaign. While the Congress is demanding an investigation and asking why such assets were allegedly not disclosed, Sarma has dismissed the charges as fabricated and politically driven, saying he and his wife will move court within 48 hours.

At a press conference, Khera questioned whether Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, owned property in Dubai and whether the family had business interests in the US or shell firms elsewhere. He said more material would be released in the coming days and asked why the alleged Dubai assets were not mentioned in the Chief Minister’s election affidavit.

“… Are they denying that they have no property in Dubai? Are they denying that they have no company in America? Are they denying that they have no shell companies anywhere in the world?… We will give much more evidence every day. A lot is coming. Why has he concealed the Dubai properties owned by his wife from his election affidavit?,” he later said while talking to news agency ANI.

Khera also alleged that documents suggested Sarma’s wife held passports from the UAE, Egypt and Antigua and Barbuda. He further attacked Sarma politically, claiming there was a contradiction between the Chief Minister’s politics and the allegations now being raised by the Congress.

Sarma hit back hard. Responding from Guwahati, he said Khera had displayed three passports from three countries and tried to link them to his wife, along with allegations about a company in his son’s name. He said the figures being mentioned were absurd, including a claim of Rs 52,000 crore, which he said did not even match the scale of Assam’s own budget.

The Chief Minister said his team examined the material and found errors in the place of birth, spellings and other details. He also said Assam Police had rechecked the matter through diplomatic channels of the Indian government and found the UAE passports being circulated to be fraudulent. Sarma said Khera would be charged with fabricating documents and criminal conspiracy, adding that the Congress leader would face jail.

“If a CM earns for 20 years, he still will not be able to make Rs 52,000 crores. We examined it. There was an error in the place of birth, spelling, and other details. Our police have reconfirmed through the Indian government’s diplomatic channels that the UEA passports are fraudulent… Pawan Khera will be charged with fabricating a fraudulent document and criminal conspiracy. I am confident that Pawan Khera will spend his last moments in an Assam jail.”

In a post on X, Sarma described Khera’s press conference as a sign of “frustration and panic” within the Congress. He said the allegations were “malicious, fabricated, and politically motivated lies” meant to mislead the people of Assam.

He also said he and his wife would file both civil and criminal defamation cases against Khera within 48 hours. Sarma said he had full faith in the judiciary and that the truth would come out in court. He added that the people of Assam would not be swayed by “propaganda” and said the BJP remained confident of winning more than 100 seats.

What Himanta Sarma and his wife said about the documents

In another post, Sarma listed what he called serious flaws in the documents shown by the Congress. He pointed to a mismatch in the surname, saying “SARMA” was used instead of the official “SHARMA”. He also said the photograph appeared to be taken from the public domain rather than being a biometric passport image.

He further alleged irregularities in the UAE ID, Antigua and Barbuda passport and Egyptian passport shown at the press conference. According to him, these included mismatched expiry details, passport number issues, nationality inconsistencies, spelling mistakes and an invalid QR code on a title deed. He said these signs suggested crude digital manipulation and added that those spreading misinformation would be held responsible.

Riniki Bhuyan Sharma also responded publicly. In a post on X, she mocked what she called poor “AI generation and photoshopping” and accused Khera of circulating imaginary passports and fake documents without basic due diligence. She said criminal charges were being initiated and the matter would now continue in court.

The BJP, too, rallied behind the Assam Chief Minister. Party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi called the Congress attack baseless and said fake documents had been used against Sarma. Assam minister Pijush Hazarika also took a swipe at the Congress, claiming its attempt to create fake passport images had collapsed because of shoddy editing work.

Congress sharpens attack before Assam votes

The Congress, however, did not back down. Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi said the allegations against Sarma were serious and needed a deeper investigation. He said holding multiple passports and failing to declare properties, if true, would amount to a grave offence.

Gogoi also asked how much money may have been moved from Assam to foreign bank accounts and said the Chief Minister had become “an embarrassment for Assam and India”. He said Sarma would have to answer the questions and “pay for his crime”.

Rahul Gandhi also entered the battle, calling Sarma “the most corrupt and most communal Chief Minister in the country”. In a post on X, the Congress leader said Sarma had betrayed the people of Assam and claimed the evidence was now before the public.

The exchange has added more heat to an already intense campaign in the state. Assam will vote in a single phase on April 9, and counting is scheduled for May 4.

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