Assam CM’s family acquisitioned Agri land converted it into industrial property probe needed; Gaurav Gogoi
''In the light of recent developments, Sarma should resign as the chief minister of the state'', he said.
GUWAHATI- Congress Deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi on Friday demanded an inquiry into the alleged acquisition of a substantial agricultural plot of land by a media company owned by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s family and its subsequent conversion into industrial land within a short time.
The matter of land acquisition and allocation of government grants to the company owned by the chief minister’s wife was a matter of serious public concern, Gogoi told media persons here.
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”In the light of recent developments, Sarma should resign as the chief minister of the state”, he said.
Considering the speed and nature of these transactions, there was a need for a thorough inquiry to maintain transparency and uphold ethical standards, he said.
Gogoi and Sarma have been locked in a war of words on ‘X’ since Wednesday on the issue of the chief minister’s wife’s company allegedly being given a credit subsidy of Rs 10 crore by the central government under a scheme.
”There are serious ethical questions about the allocation. It hardly matters as to how much money has been credited to the Chief Minister’s family account when government subsidies should be directed toward local entrepreneurs and farmers who genuinely are in need of support”, the Kaliabor MP said.
He also urged the Chief Minister to disclose the precise amount of money, if any, received by his wife’s company in the form of grants and subsidies from the Assam government so far.
”A uniform ethical standard should be applied to both central and state government grants. If accepting money as grant from the Union Government is considered as not ethical, grants from the state government to this company should also be treated the same way”, he added.
Regarding the Rs 10 crore defamation suit that the Chief Minister’s wife has threatened to file against him, Gogoi said that he welcomes any legal action.
”The company will be required to present all relevant documents, including land and bank records, in the court of law. This will bring clarity to the situation”, he added.
Assam Chief Minister The Chief Minister has maintained that neither his wife nor the company she is associated with has received or claimed any amount from the government of India and he was willing to accept any punishment, including retirement from public life, if there is any evidence that they have received the subsidy.
On Thursday, Gogoi had posted on ‘X’ a reply by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal made in Lok Sabha in March this year that also included an annexure in which the chief minister’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma and the company ‘Pride East Entertainment Private Limited’ with which she is associated finds a mention.
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On Wednesday, Gogoi had posted a link from the website of the Ministry of Food Processing where it was mentioned that Bhuyan Sarma’s firm had received Rs 10 crore as part of credit linked subsidy under the PM Kisan Sampada Yojana which is a comprehensive package aimed to create modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management.
An Assamese web portal recently published a report alleging that a substantial parcel of agricultural land measuring over 50 bighas at Darigaji village in Kaliabor in Nagaon district was reclassified as industrial land within a month after it was bought by family members of the chief minister.
Source- PTI
