Assam TMC Claims CM Himanta Helped Wife Get Rs 10 Crore Central Subsidy, Seeks ED, CBI Probe

Bora also accused Chief Minister Sarma of misusing his official power in favouring Pride East Entertainment Private Limited, a company owned by the latter’s wife, in getting Rs 10 crore govt subsidy.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) Assam unit on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take action against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, and other family members, for allegedly getting a government subsidy.

TMC Assam unit Chief Ripun Bora accused Chief Minister Sarma of misusing his official power in favouring Pride East Entertainment Private Limited, a company owned by the latter’s wife, in getting Rs 10 crore subsidy, under the Central government’s “Pradhan Mantri Kishan Sampada Yojana” scheme, which is primarily meant for the unemployed youths and farmers.

Bora demanded ED and CBI enquiry against Chief Minister Sarma and his wife.

In a press statement, Bora said, “On the basis of BJP's mass published slogan of 'Na Khaunga Na Khane Dunga' and 'Zero Tolerance Against Corruption,' a series of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigations are going on against several opposition leaders, so the BJP-led Central government should initiate an CBI and ED enquiry against Chief Minister Sarma, his wife and other family members to prove impartiality of the government.”

According to Bora, after nine months of assuming the office of Chief Minister of Assam, on February 4, 2022, "Riniki Bhuyan Sarma purchased a plot of land at Kaliabor in the state’s Nagaon district, in the name of her company Pride East Entertainment Private Limited.

The plot of land was agricultural but Riniki Bhuyan Sarma managed to convert it from agricultural to industrial, immediately after purchase by manipulating and misusing the official power of Chief Minister Sarma. As per the existing land laws and rules prevailing in Assam, any agricultural land cannot be converted for non-agricultural purposes."

“Riniki Bhuyan Sarma after converting the plot of land from agricultural to industrial, applied for a food processing industry subsidy under the agro-processing cluster program and thereafter as per record, on November 10, 2022, received Rs 10 crore from the Food Processing Ministry as subsidy,” Bora added.

“The illegality, misuse of official power are evident from the sequences of the entire process, right from purchasing the plot of agricultural land, change of classification, and receipt of Rs 10 crore as subsidy, everything got materialised within a short period of time, which would not have been possible in case of a general public. It is surprising how Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, who is the owner of an entertainment company, can become beneficiary of the 'Pradhan Mantri Kishan Sampada Yojona' scheme," Bora said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sarma has refuted any claims of receiving subsidies from the Central government.

"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," he tweeted.