Guwahati, September 14: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma said that she will file a defamation case against Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi for levelling allegations that her firm received a subsidy of Rs 10 crore from the central government. "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 Rs 10 cr in damages against him in the court of law," Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, the Chairperson and Managing Director of Prideeast Entertainments Pvt Ltd said in a statement.

Riniki Bhuyan Sharma described the allegations as an attack to malign and defame an Assamese enterprise headed by a woman entrepreneur. "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," the statement read. Polygamy To Be Banned in Assam? Assam Government Seeks Public Suggestion on Banning Polygamy.

Prideeast Entertainments said that like any other qualifying enterprise, it is eligible to participate in government-supported programs and incentive schemes. However, it reiterated that it has "neither claimed or received a single paisa of government subsidy" under the PM Kisan Sampada Scheme despite being eligible for it. "Prideeast 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, Prideeast Entertainments Pvt Ltd. has neither claimed or received a single paisa of government subsidy, despite meeting all the eligibility criteria," the statement read.

Prideeast Entertainments has come under fire after a war of words erupted over an allegation by the Congress party, especially Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, that the Assam Chief Minister had helped his wife's firm to get a subsidy of Rs 10 crore from the central government. Himanta, however, denied the charge repeatedly on 'X', saying that his wife, Riniki Bhuyan did not claim the subsidy. "I want to emphasize once again that neither my wife nor the company she is associated with has received or claimed any amount from the Government of India," Himanta clarified in a message on 'X'. Assam Child Marriage: 15 Fake ‘Kazis’ Arrested From Hailakandi District for Conducting Marriages by Preparing Fake Documents.

Gaurav Gogoi had earlier shared a snapshot of the Ministry of Food Processing website showing the central government approved Rs 10 crore grant to Riniki Bhuyan's company. He also shared a reply from Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal in Parliament. "The Ministry of Food Processing website clearly shows the name of the person and the company she is associated with. The Rs 10 crore government grant has also been approved. Please report to the Union Minister if their website has been hacked," Gogoi wrote on 'X' on Wednesday.

Earlier on Thursday, Congress national spokesperson Gourav Vallabh alleged that months after Bharatiya Janata Party leader Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Assam, in 2019, his wife--Riniki Bhuyan Sarma’s firm has received Rs 10 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana.

"The Pride East Entertainments Private Limited, whose CMD is Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, describes itself as the leading regional media house connecting the entire northeast region. But a few months after the Chief Minister of Assam took the oath of office, this company bought 50 acres of agricultural land in Assam's Nagaon. After just a few days, this agricultural land turns into industrial land. Then this company applies in the 'Pradhanmantri Kisan Sampada Yojana' of the Government of India that it will do the work of food processing. For which he is also given a grant of Rs 10 crore," the Congress spokesperson said.

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