GUWAHATI/NEW DELHI
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma helped a firm associated with his wife secure a subsidy of ₹10 crore under a Central project of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the Congress party has alleged.
The Chief Minister dismissed the allegation outright.
The Ministry’s website lists the firms approved for subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana’s programme for agro-processing clusters. At number 10 on the list is Pride East Entertainment Private Limited, alongside a column sporting the name of Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, the Chief Minister’s wife.
The firm’s project cost is shown as ₹25.877 crore, and the grant approved is shown as ₹10 crore on the list. The subsidy is reportedly for establishing a food processing plant in central Assam’s Nagaon district.
Sharing a story done by a news portal on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi posted on Tuesday night: “Adarnya Pradhan Mantri [respected Prime Minister] Modi, your government has given Rs 10 crore subsidy to a private company run by the wife of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa’s wife. Is this revdi or rabri [sweet dishes, in an allusion to corruption]? Is this why people are paying tax?”
“PM Modi launched the Kisan Sampada scheme to double the income of farmers of India. But in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma used his influence to help his wife’s firm get ₹10 crore as part of a credit-linked subsidy. Are Central government schemes meant to enrich BJP?” Mr. Gogoi wrote in another post on Wednesday.
Replying to this post, Dr. Sarma said neither his wife nor the company she is associated with had ever received any financial subsidies from the Centre.
But Mr. Gogoi responded through a subsequent post that the website of the Food Processing Industries Ministry clearly showed the name of the Chief Minister’s wife and the company she is associated with. He said the ₹10 crore government grant had also been approved.
“Please report to the Union Minister if their website has been hacked,” he wrote.
Dr. Sarma reiterated “with full responsibility” that his wife and the company have not taken or received any subsidies from the Centre.
Mr. Gogoi subsequently attached the link to the Ministry of Food Processing Industries’ website for the Chief Minister’s “convenience”, stating that it showed the list of companies and promoters who had received the ₹10 crore government subsidy.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) also held a press conference at the party headquarters.
“Buy agricultural land, convert it to industrial land and receive a subsidy of ₹ 10 crore from the Government of India. But the scheme is only available for BJP Chief Ministers and their family members,” party spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said.
“Is this the ‘na khaunga na khane doonga model’? ”he asked, adding, “is this kind of scheme available for crores of unemployed youths of our country?”
