Amid the raging political controversy involving Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan of allegedly receiving Rs 10 crore as part of a credit-linked subsidy from the Central Government, the chief minister once again reiterated that his wife’s company has not received any amount from the Government of India.
Sharing a tweet of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on platform X (earlier known as Twitter), CM Sarma wrote, “The reply itself clarifies the fact that the Government of India has not released any funds to the mentioned company. I want to emphasize once again that neither my wife nor the company she is associated with has received or claimed any amount from the Government of India. If anyone can provide evidence to the contrary, I am willing to accept any punishment including retirement from public life”.
CM Sarma carried on in his next tweet saying that all family members of BJP politicians have the right to run their companies and seek government subsidies if they are entitled to them. “Please do not change the goal post now. Yes, all family members of BJP politicians have the right to run their own companies and seek government subsidies if they are entitled to them. This is true for everyone. However, I would like to clarify that in this particular case, my wife has not even claimed the subsidy”.
The Opposition came down heavily on Assam Chief Minister and his wife over the latter receiving subsidy of Rs 10 crore from the Ministry of Food Processing Industries as part of the Kisan Sampada scheme. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on September 13 lambasted Assam CM while sharing a ‘proof’ of the alleged amount received by Assam CM’s wife on micro-blogging site X.
Taking to his X handle (Twitter) Gogoi wrote, "For the convenience of the Hon’ble Chief Minister I am attaching the link to the website of the Ministry of Food Processing. It shows the list of companies and promoters who have received the Rs 10 crore government subsidy. Please see serial 10. https://t.co/rR2m9PH8DX."
The Congress MP also tweeted, "The Ministry of Food Processing website clearly shows the name of the person and the company she is associated with. The Rs 10 crore government grant has also been approved. Please report to the Union Minister if their website has been hacked."
This comes after, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma swiftly addressed the allegations, refuting any claims of receiving subsidies from the Central government.