- Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi accused Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife’s company of receiving a ₹10 crore subsidy.
- Sarma denied the allegations, stating that his wife and her company have not received any subsidies.
- Gogoi countered by sharing a link to the food processing ministry website that listed the company and the subsidy.
Allegations and rebuttals between Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma surfaced on social media platform on Wednesday over a purported subsidy provided from a central government scheme to a company owned by Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.
Gogoi, who represents the Koliabor seat in Assam, alleged that the Centre had given a ₹10 crore subsidy to a private company run by Sarma’s wife. “Is this why people are paying tax,” he questioned.
Gogoi’s accusation was based on a news report carried by a website, which alleged that Bhuyan’s company Pride East Entertainment, in which she holds a majority stake, had purchased nearly 50 bighas of agricultural land in Kaliabor mouza (which falls in Gogoi’s constituency) in February 2022, nine months after Sarma took charge as chief minister.
The report alleged that the agricultural plot was converted to industrial land within months and Pride East Entertainment applied for a subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana to set up a food processing unit. It added that the Union food processing ministry approved a subsidy of ₹10 crore to the company on November 10 last year.
“PM Modi launched the Kisan Sampada Scheme to double the income of farmers in India. But in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma used his influence to help his wife’s firm get ₹10 crore as part of credit credit-linked subsidy. Are central government schemes meant to enrich BJP?” Gogoi questioned in another post.
Reacting to Gogoi’s post, Sarma posted that neither his wife nor the company she is associated with has ever received any financial subsidies from the central government. “I would like to reiterate again with full responsibility that my wife and the company she is associated with have not taken or received any subsidies from the Government of India,” Sarma said in a post on the issue.
The food processing ministry’s website has details of 70 Agro-processing cluster projects under the scheme. The data includes the names of seven projection execution agencies and those of the lead promoters from Assam, including M/s Pride East Entertainments Pvt Ltd. The CM’s wife is mentioned as the lead promoter of that firm.
According to the information put out by the ministry, approvals for subsidies were given to these 70 projects between 2019 and 2022. The details include the expenditure on each project and the grants approved. A grant of Rs 10 crore for a project costing over Rs 25 crore in Nagaon district was approved in the name of M/s Pride East Entertainments Pvt Ltd on November 10, 2022, the website shows.
Replying to Sarma’s post, Gogoi attached a link to the food processing ministry website which showed a list that included the names of Pride East Entertainment and Bhuyan and mentioned it had got a grant of ₹10 crore. “Please report to the Union minister if their website has been hacked,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
