Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday asserted that his wife and the company she is associated with have not received any subsidy from the central government.
Sarma’s statement came after Congress Deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi alleged in a social media post that the website of the Ministry of Food Processing shows that Riniki Bhuyan Sarma’s firm Pride East Entertainments Private Limited has received Rs 10 crore as part of credit linked subsidy.
Riniki Bhuyan Sarma is the wife of the Assam chief minister.
“I would like to clarify that neither my wife nor the company she is associated with has ever received any financial subsidies from the government of India,” Sarma posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Gogoi had also posted earlier in the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Kisan Sampada scheme to double the income of farmers.
The PM Kisan Sampada Yojana is a comprehensive package which aims to create modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail
“But in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma used his influence to help his wife’s firm get Rs 10 crore as part of credit linked subsidy. Are Central government schemes meant to enrich BJP?” the senior Congress leader claimed.
Gogoi also posted a photo purportedly of a list from the website of the Ministry of Food Processing, in which the number 10 entry is that of Riniki Bhuyan Sarma and Pride East Entertainments Private Limited.
The chief minister again posted on ‘X’ that he “would like to reiterate again with full responsibility” that his wife and the company she is associated with have not taken any subsidy from the Centre.
An Assamese web portal recently published a report alleging that a substantial parcel of agricultural land measuring over 50 bighas at Darigaji village in Kaliabor in Nagaon district was reclassified as industrial land within a month after it was bought by family members of the chief minister.
The Assam Jatiya Parishad President Lurinjyoti Gogoi called for a thorough and impartial judicial inquiry into it by the Gauhati High Court.
“What further compounds the gravity of these allegations is the claim that the Chief Minister’s wife reportedly benefited from the Prime Minister’s Kishan Sampada Yojana, a government scheme designed to support farmers”, the AJP leader said.
