Assam CM Sarma Denies Subsidy Allegations Again, Congress Produces More Documents to Back Claim

The chief minister’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, one of the owners of the company in question, said that she will file a defamation case against Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, who has been highlighting the alleged issue of corruption and cronyism.

New Delhi: As the Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma refuted charges that the company owned by his family members has received a Rs 10 crore subsidy from the Union government, his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, one of the owners of the company, said that she will file a defamation case against Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi who has been highlighting the alleged issue of corruption and cronyism.

Earlier on Thursday, September 14, Sarma claimed once again that the company owned by his family members, Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd, has neither claimed nor received any subsidy under the Union government’s Kisan Sampada scheme. This, despite the fact that multiple political leaders and news agencies produced official documents of the Union government showing that the company was granted Rs 10 crore for a food processing plant in Assam’s Nagaon.

Sarma claimed that the company hasn’t received any subsidy. However, Gogoi on Thursday produced another document in which Union minister Piyush Goyal, in his response to a Lok Sabha question by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pallabh Lochan Das, lists Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd as one of the beneficiaries of the PM Kisan Sampada Yojana.

The Lok Sabha response by Goyal, dated March 22, 2023, lists several such companies as beneficiaries of the Union government’s scheme, one of which is Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd, which is claimed to have received a grant of Rs 10 crore.

The allegations have thrown Sarma into yet another controversy surrounding allegations of corruption. The CrossCurrent, an Assam-based news website, had earlier reported that Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd, owned by the chief minister’s family, including his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, his mother Mrinalini Devi, his son Nandil Biswa Sarma, and his daughter Sukanya Sarma, had purchased 56 bighas of agricultural land in February 2022, 54 bighas of which was meant only for agricultural use. However, the land was reclassified in April 2022 as “industrial”, allowing Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd to propose a food processing plant at the site.

Ever since the story broke, the Assam Congress has been demanding a detailed clarification from the chief minister in the state assembly. Gogoi alleged that Sarma has remained absent from the assembly to avoid a clarification on the matter, and that mere “denial” will not clear the air.

Soon after Gogoi published Goyal’s response on X (formerly Twitter), Sarma claimed that he would retire from public life if these allegations are proven to be true and maintained that the company owned by his family hasn’t received any grant from the Union government. His defence, however, appears to hinge on the assumption that either the Union government hasn’t released the grant or the company hasn’t received it. He also claimed that the company hasn’t sought or claimed any subsidy from the Union government.

The opposition leaders and news reports, however, have cited Lok Sabha and Union government’s documents to claim that Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd is a beneficiary of a central scheme. Against this backdrop, Sarma’s response leaves a lot to be desired.

Meanwhile, Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, released a statement that merely reiterated the chief minister’s claims.

“It (Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd) is a law-abiding company with all its financial records in the public domain. With a long and successful business track record, PrideEast Entertainments Pvt Ltd., like any other qualifying enterprise, is eligible to participate in government-supported programmes/incentive schemes. However, in the present case, pertaining to the PM Kisan Sampada Scheme, PrideEast Entertainments has neither claimed nor received a single paisa of government subsidy, despite meeting all eligibility criteria,” her statement read.

“This is nothing but an attack to malign and defame a 17-year-old Assamese enterprise, which has adhered to every aspect of the law, headed by a woman entrepreneur. To protect the reputation of our hardworking employees from this slanderous campaign of Shri Gaurav Gogoi, Member of Parliament. I am thereby constrained to file a case of defamation with Rs 10 crore in damages against him in the court of law,” she said.

The clamour for a response from the chief minister in the state assembly is only likely to grow in such circumstances.