Guwahati, May 14: Congress leader Pawan Khera appeared before the Guwahati Crime Branch Police Station on Thursday in connection with the passport case involving Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma. As Khera arrived for questioning, Chief Minister Sarma, while offering prayers at the Kamakhya Temple, remarked to reporters, “Assam’s Peda’s taste is good,” a comment widely interpreted as a swipe at the Congress leader.

Speaking at the temple, Sarma expressed optimism about Assam’s future, stating, “I am confident that with the blessings of Mahamaya Maa Kamakhya, our state will go forward in the next five years.”

Outside the police station, Khera told reporters that he was cooperating with the investigation. “The probe is underway, and I am cooperating in it,” he said.

The controversy stems from allegations made by Khera in April, when he claimed that Riniki Bhuyan Sarma possessed three passports from India, the UAE, and Egypt, and owned undisclosed luxury properties in Dubai along with a company registered in Wyoming, USA. The Sarma family has strongly denied the charges, calling the documents “AI-generated fabrications” circulated by Pakistani social media groups.

Earlier, Sarma had vowed stern action against Khera, accusing him of circulating doctored passport copies and suggesting that the case could extend to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. He also alleged that Khera fled to Hyderabad after police searches in Delhi. “The law will take its own course,” Sarma asserted.