GUWAHATI: Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention into the mega controversy on the Rs 10 crore subsidy granted to Pride East Entertainment Pvt Ltd by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).
“In my humble opinion, such companies should seek credit from the financial sector or banks. Government grants must be given to the genuine and needy beneficiaries who have displayed the expertise to utilize the tax-payers money properly,” Gogoi said in a letter to PM Modi on Tuesday.
“It has come to notice that the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, under the PMKSY and Scheme for Creation of Infrastructure for Agro Clusters, has allocated an amount of Rs 10 crore to Pride East Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the promoter of which is Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, wife of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma,” Gogoi said.
“On March 22, 2023, Union minister of commerce and industries Piyush Goel, while replying to questions in Lok Sabha to whether the government has taken the initiative to invest in Assam to support the promotion of industries, has given a list of food processing projects supported under the component of PMKSY in the northeastern states as on January 31, 2022 vis a vis the state of Assam,” Gogoi said.
“At serial No 7 of the list, the name of Pride East Entertainment Pvt Ltd has been mentioned. Pertinently, the amount of approved grant-in-aid is mentioned as Rs 10 crore. The name Pride East Entertainment Pvt Ltd can also be found in the list of beneficiaries on the websites of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries,” he said.
“Assam is home to many small and medium entrepreneurs, and companies with vast experience in food processing. Ignoring them for a media entity with links to the sitting chief minister is a gross injustice to them,” Gogoi also said.
“Yet on September 14, the chief minister posted on X saying “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,” he said in the letter to PM Modi.
On September 17, Gogoi sent a letter to Union minister for commerce and industries Piyush Goel seeking to know if the Pride East Entertainment Private Limited has received Rs 10 crore subsidy under the PMKSY.
In the letter, Gogoi stated, “ It is apparent from your reply in the Lok Sabha and the list of beneficiaries on the website of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries that Rs 10 crore has been approved in the name of Pride East Entertainment Private Limited. However, the chief minister of Assam, whose family members own and control the said entity, has denied receiving or claiming any amount from the government. Therefore, in the interest of public transparency, I humbly request your kind intervention in the matter so that the real facts come out in the open”.
Goel is yet to reply to Gogoi’s letter.
Notably, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma has already filed a civil defamation suit against Gogoi before the court of Civil Judge (Senior Division), Kamprup Metro, in Guwahati, claiming Rs 10 crore in damages from the Congress MP.
