As Assam govt faces slew of corruption allegations, Opposition's challenge to PM Modi

Throwing a challenge to the prime minister to “walk the talk,” the state’s Opposition parties have demanded a judicial probe into allegations of the chief minister’s wife getting undue benefits of a subsidy scheme and land deals, a slur the state government has vehemently refuted.

The twin allegations saw a combined Opposition - barring the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) of Badruddin Ajmal - staging a walk-out in the Assam assembly on Thursday (September 14).

The Opposition alleged that the chief minister’s wife, who is also the chairperson-cum managing director of the media group Pride East Entertainments Private Limited, bought 50 bigha 2 katha of agricultural land in Kaliabor Dargaji village in Nagaon district on February 2, 2022.

Her company further purchased another parcel of land measuring 56 bighas 7 lecha on July 1, 2023 in the same village.

As per the state’s land ceiling law, no one can own more than 49.5 bigha of agricultural land. Therefore, after the Chief Minister’s wife bought the land, it was allegedly reclassified as industrial land.

Furthermore, there were also allegations that ₹10 crore was allotted to the Pride East Entertainment under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana to set up a food processing unit in the acquired land in Nagaon district.

The chief minister, however, denied that his wife benefitted from the central government’s agriculture scheme.

“I would like to again reiterate with full responsibility that my wife and the company she is associated with have not taken or received any subsidies from the government of India,” he said in his X handle.

In response to the chief minister’s claim, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi posted on his X handle a URL link of the Ministry of Food Processing that listed beneficiaries of the subsidy scheme.

“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://mofpi.gov.in/sites/default/,” Gogoi’s X post read.

Riniki threatens defamation suit against Gogoi

Continuing with claims and counterclaims, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma threatened to file a defamation suit against the Congress MP.

In her response to the allegations, she said, “The Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd. is an independent entity in existence since 2006 with business interests in varied sectors. It is a law-abiding company with all its financial records in the public domain. With a long and successful business track record, Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd. - like any other qualifying enterprise - is eligible to participate in government-supported programs/incentive schemes.

“However, in the present case, pertaining to the PM Kisan Sampada Scheme, the company has neither claimed nor received a single paisa of government subsidy, despite meeting all the eligibility criteria. 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 Sri Gaurav Gogoi, Hon'ble Member of Parliament, I am thereby constrained to file a case of defamation with 10 crore in damages against him in the court of law,” she added.

Dismissing the legal threat, Gogoi said Union minister Piyush Goyal and BJP MP Pallab Lochan Das should also be made party to the lawsuit.

Goyal, in reply to a question from Das in the Lok Sabha, gave the list of beneficiaries of the subsidy scheme from Assam.

Apart from news and entertainment channels, Riniki Bhuyan’s company also allegedly owns tea plantations, hotels, resorts, schools, and many other businesses.

Cash-for-jobs scam

The latest allegation of irregularities against her come at a time when the state’s ruling BJP is already bogged down in a sleazy cash-for-jobs scam involving some of its functionaries.

The recruitment scam came to light after the general secretary of the party’s Kisan Morcha Indrani Tahbildar committed suicide at her Guwahati residence on August 11 after her alleged intimate photos with Anurag Chaliha, also a member of the morcha, went viral on social media.

While probing how the intimate photos went viral, the police stumbled upon the scam involving some BJP functionaries. Five persons have been arrested so far in connection with the scam. All five are associated with the BJP.

“The series of scams exposed that something is rotten in the state of Assam. Prime Minister Modi had made a tall claim before elections that if a double-engine government was elected in Assam, it would be a paragon of honesty and good governance. Now we (the Congress party) want to ask him what has happened to his big claim of ‘Na Khaunga, Na Khane Dunga.’ He would order a judicial probe into rampant corruption in Assam if he really meant what he had said,” Assam Congress spokesperson Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee told The Federal.

‘Tip of the iceberg’

He alleged that what has come to light so far is just the tip of the iceberg. “The chief minister’s wife is now in an ill-gotten property acquisition spree, owning tea gardens, resorts, and many other businesses. There should be a thorough investigation. Where is ED (enforcement directorate) now?” he asked.

“We firmly believe in the principles of honesty, integrity, and zero tolerance to corruption, as advocated by the chief minister himself. Therefore, we find it imperative to call for a thorough and impartial judicial inquiry by the Guwahati High Court into these alarming allegations, particularly those related to land irregularities,” said Assam Jatiya Parishad in a press statement.