Himanta's wife files Rs 10 cr defamation suit against Gaurav Gogoi
Guwahati (PTI): Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, the wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has filed a Rs 10 crore defamation suit against Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi for "false" allegations of irregularities in a food processing project.
Senior advocate Devajit Saikia, her counsel, told PTI that the case has been filed at the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) of Kamrup Metropolitan on Friday and it will be moved on September 26.
"My client has claimed a defamation of Rs 10 crore against Gaurav Gogoi for various tweets on X. We have made it very clear that we never made any application to receive subsidy," he added.
Saikia further claimed that the process to seek subsidy has not been initiated at all and for which, a show cause notice was slapped on his client's firm on May 26 this year, followed by an email from the Ministry of Food Processing.
"The approval for the project was given on November 22, 2022. In the last email, we were told that our claim would lapse if we didn't submit our proposal. We are not responding to anything to seek subsidy," he added.
Whatever Gogoi stated on social media about Sarma and her entity 'Pride East Entertainments', that information was not based on facts, claimed the senior advocate.
"He (Gogoi) did not do his homework. Getting approval for a project does not mean that a subsidy has been received. We will fight the case tooth and nail," he asserted.
A huge controversy erupted after Guwahati-based digital media 'The Crosscurrent' published a report alleging that over 50 bigha (nearly 17 acres) of agricultural land at Darigaji village in Kaliabor in Nagaon district was reclassified as industrial land within a month after it was bought by Pride East Entertainments, in which the chief minister's wife is the chairman and managing director.
Following this, Gogoi, in a series of tweets for several days, brought allegations of corruption against Sarma and his wife in getting central government subsidy for the project.
The Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha sought the intervention of Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in bringing facts out in the open regarding subsidy for the project under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) and Scheme for Creation of Infrastructure for Agro Clusters.
The Assam MP also pointed out that on March 22, 2023, Goyal in a reply to questions in Lok Sabha on the government's initiative to invest in Assam in order to support the promotion of industries, provided a list of food processing projects supported under the component of PMKSY as on January 31, 2022.
"At Serial No 7 of the list, the name of M/S Pride East Entertainment Pvt Ltd has been mentioned. Pertinently, the amount of approved Grant-in-Aid is mentioned as Rs 10 crore. The list of beneficiaries can also be found on the website of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries," he added.
The PM Kisan Sampada Yojana is a comprehensive package which aims to create modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet.
Gogoi's claims were vehemently challenged by the chief minister, who was engaged in a prolonged duel with the Congress leader on X. His wife had threatened to sue the MP alleging defamation.
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Unruly scenes witnessed in Punjab Assembly
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Assembly on Friday witnessed high drama on Friday after Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira made an allegedly objectionable remark against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during an intense argument over the alleged use of mobile phone in the house by the legislator.
During the one-day special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann accused Khaira of using a mobile phone when Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was reading out an official resolution on the revision of wages.
After rising from his seat, the chief minister pointed to the speaker, claiming that Khaira is busy on his mobile phone and urged him to ask the Congress MLA what Sandhwan had said about the resolution.
The speaker then asked Khaira to maintain order in the house and listen to the resolution carefully.
Mann then asked Khaira, "Why don't you go out and then use it (mobile phone)," which led to a strong verbal altercation during which the opposition MLA hurled an accusation against the chief minister. Meanwhile, the speaker appealed for order and insisted that the chair be addressed.
However, both Mann and Khaira continued arguing and could be seen pointing fingers at each other as the proceedings of the house were disrupted.
The AAP MLAs also rose from their seats with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemning Khaira for his conduct and demanded action against him.
Cheema further alleged that Khaira "always tries to disturb the house" as he spoke about his conduct in the assembly.
The incident occurred as an official resolution on the revision of wages was presented at the special session by Labour Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond who said it paid homage to labourers on the International Workers' Day.
"Workers are the axis of construction of the nation, the community, the state and society. Every construction project succeeds only through their blood and sweat," the resolution read.
As per the resolution, "The base rate of minimum wages for the working class in Punjab was last revised in the year 2012. Although the dearness allowance has continued to increase since 2012, there has been no increase in the base rate of minimum wages.
On this sacred occasion of May Day, in this special session of the legislative assembly, this house proposes to revise and increase the minimum wages of labourers and strongly recommends to the government to take a decision regarding the increase of minimum wages for workers, so that the contributions of the workers can be acknowledged." PRK
