New Delhi, Sep 13: Congress on Wednesday targeted Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma saying that his wife’s company received Rs 10 crore subsidy from the government and touted BJP and asked is it BJP’s ‘na khaunga, na khane dunga model’.
Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh addressing a press conference here said, “What an Idea, Sirji. Buy agricultural land, convert it to industrial land and receive subsidy of Rs 10 crore from the central government.”
He also said that the above scheme is only available for BJP Chief Ministers and their family members.
The Congress leader said that Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd. which is the leading regional media house connecting the entire north-east region.
“Assam Chief Minister’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma is the CMD of this company and the company got a grant of Rs 10 crore from Modi government under PM’s Kisan Sampada Yojana,” he alleged.
He said that this company bought agricultural land and within a short period the land was converted to industrial land and got a subsidy of Rs 10 crore under Kisan Sampada Yojana.
“According to the report and documents available in public domain Riniki Bhuyan Sarma had bought 50 Bigha of Agricultural Land at Darigaji village, District Nagaon, Assam. The land was classified as agricultural land. But within a very short period, the land was converted to industrial land. After its new classification as industrial land, Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd applied for government grant at Ministry of Food Processing, Government of India and received the grant of Rs 10 crore,” he said.
Vallabh said: “We have four questions and demands for the Modi government — Is this the model to double farmers income, where money allocated for a scheme dedicated for farmers was distributed as Grant to a company associated with Assam Chief Minister’s wife? On one side farmers earned Rs 27 a day from cultivation in 2018-19 and on other side Rs 10 crore which was originally allocated for farmers were given as grant to a media company associated with the wife of Sarma, Why?”
Touting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s zero tolerance for corruption stand, Vallabh asked, “Is this “na khaunga na khane dunga’ model? Is this kind of scheme available for crores of unemployed youths of our country?”
The remarks from the Congress leader came after party MP Gaurav Gogoi on took to X and in a post said: “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 Rs 10 crore as part of credit linked subsidy.
“Are Central government schemes meant to enrich the BJP?” he asked.
Meanwhile, the Assam Chief Minister refuted the land scam allegations against his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, adding that she did receive any subsidies from the Central government to purchase land.