Sarma took the political fight further by saying Khera will face serious legal trouble. Khera stated that Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, the chief minister’s wife, has passports from the United Arab Emirates, Antigua and Barbuda, and Egypt. Khera also says she owns property in Dubai that she hasn’t said anything about, and has connections to a business in the United States.
Congress leaders say that having multiple passports from different countries and not reporting money and possessions overseas would break Indian laws about being a citizen and declaring things for election purposes. Gaurav Gogoi, who leads the Assam Congress, said these supposed failures to declare things are a big deal and the authorities should look at the documents and claims.
Khera also pointed out that Sarma publicly says one thing, but his wife supposedly has connections to foreign countries. Later in Guwahati, Congress repeated the claims, saying this situation is a test of how open and honest Sarma is.
Sarma’s Rebuttal and Legal Threat
Sarma strongly denied all the accusations, calling them made up and changed with computers. His wife has filed a police complaint, and the state police have started to investigate. He says one of the passports shown online has already been confirmed as fake by the people who deal with them, and he expects to get official statements from other governments soon.
Sarma said that if fake documents are used to get people to vote a certain way, that could lead to much harsher punishments. He mentioned laws that allow for a life sentence if false information is used to change the outcome of an election.
Sarma also dismissed claims about his family’s money, including claims that they own businesses worth 52,000 crore rupees, saying this is unrealistic and doesn’t add up for the family of someone in charge of a state.
Claims of Foreign Influence and Digital Manipulation
Sarma has now said that the materials that were shown at the Congress press conferences were “provided by Pakistan.” He says a social media group in Pakistan and the programs they use have been spreading information that helps the opposition in the Assam election.
The Chief Minister claims the documents shown were changed using Artificial Intelligence, and that a picture of a passport was taken from social media and then altered. He wants the police to think about the possibility that this is happening across borders as part of the investigation.
Congress has responded by repeating their questions and asking for a full, impartial investigation. At the moment, both sides are using their own documents and what they are publicly saying, and official confirmation is still to come.
What the Law Says on Dual Citizenship and Disclosure
Indian law doesn’t allow for dual citizenship. If someone has a passport from another country and remains an Indian citizen, that would cause legal issues, if proven. Also, people in public office must declare certain assets and interests on a statement (affidavit) they file with the Election Commission.
But these rules depend on documents that are real and can be checked. If the papers going around are fakes or have been digitally altered, as Sarma says, then different laws come into play, including those that deal with forgery and trying to influence an election with false information.
The next step is for authorities in India and other countries to verify things. Whether the passports and property documents in question are genuine will determine what happens legally and in the election.
Political Stakes Ahead of Assam Polls
Assam is voting on April 9th, and this disagreement is adding even more uncertainty to what was already a heated election. Congress is using the allegations to ask about Sarma’s honesty. The BJP (Sarma’s party) led government in Assam says the claims are a nasty attempt to trick voters with false proof.
Both of these viewpoints are now part of the discussion during the election. The police investigation in the state, any official confirmation from other countries, and what happens in court will probably change what people think during the last few weeks of the election.
For now, the arguing has gotten worse. Sarma’s warning of “life imprisonment” is a way to make the legal consequences seem bigger, while Congress believes that continuing to ask questions and showing documents will keep the issue being talked about. What officially confirms the truth will be the most important thing, and it could either show that Sarma is correct in saying the claims are false, or that the opposition’s accusations are valid.
