A major political storm has erupted just days before the April 9 polls, as a joint team from the Assam and Delhi Police descended upon the residence of Congress leader Pawan Khera on Tuesday morning. The raid follows an FIR filed by Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, the wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. While Khera was reportedly away from his Nizamuddin home during the search, police remained on-site, with sources claiming they had recovered "incriminating material." The Chief Minister wasted no time in mocking his rival’s absence, suggesting Khera had "fled to Hyderabad" to evade questioning.
The Congress party has reacted with fury, branding the police action a desperate "witch-hunt." Karnataka Minister Karti Chidambaram went as far as to compare the Assam Police to a "private militia," while Jairam Ramesh argued that the sheer scale of the police deployment proved the Chief Minister was "disturbed and rattled" by the questions being raised. Fellow party member Pramod Tiwari also questioned the legality of the move, suggesting that the police had bypassed standard investigative procedures to act as a tool for a private individual.
The catalyst for this confrontation was a recent press conference where Khera levelled explosive allegations against Sharma. He claimed she held three foreign passports — from the UAE, Egypt, and Antigua and Barbuda — and possessed significant assets in Dubai and Wyoming. Khera pointedly asked whether the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, was aware that the wife of his political ally allegedly held multiple citizenships in violation of Indian law.
Himanta Biswa Sarma has hit back hard, dismissing the claims as a tissue of lies backed by fraudulent documents. He warned that using forged papers to influence an election could carry a sentence of life imprisonment. Furthermore, the Chief Minister alleged a darker conspiracy, claiming that the material for Khera’s accusations had been supplied by a Pakistani social media group. He noted a suspicious surge in talk shows regarding the Assam elections on Pakistani channels, suggesting an attempt at external interference.
For her part, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma has categorically denied the allegations, calling them "AI-generated" fabrications. She pointed out the absurdity of the claims, noting that India does not permit dual citizenship and that the "property" cited in Dubai was merely a hotel room number. She expressed her frustration at her family being dragged into a political mudslinging match, insisting that she and her children have no involvement in politics.
The rhetoric has only intensified as the polling date nears. Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi challenged the Chief Minister to swear on the Bhagavad Gita that he holds no foreign property, while Khera is reportedly preparing a fresh political offensive with further "evidence." Meanwhile, Sarma maintains that the passport details cited by the Congress have already been verified as fakes by the Dubai government, pointing out basic errors in the documents, such as listing "India" as a place of birth rather than a specific city. With both sides dug in, this row over passports and hidden assets has become the defining flashpoint of the election campaign.
Also read: Gogoi questions Assam CM's wealth; Riniki delivers a sharp retort
Follow us
