Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma has filed a defamation suit seeking Rs 10 crore in damages against Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, media reported.

Represented by senior advocate Devajit Saikia, the case has been lodged in the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) of Kamrup Metropolitan and is scheduled for proceedings on September 26, a report in the media said.

Saikia said Riniki Bhuyan Sarma has filed the defamation of Rs10 crore against Gaurav Gogoi for various tweets on X, alleging irregularities in a food processing project, added the report.

He said no application was made by his client to receive the subsidy, it stated.

Gogoi’s allegations on social media about Sarma and her entity 'Pride East Entertainments' were false and not based on facts, claimed the senior advocate.

He did not do his homework, the senior advocate said, adding that seeking approval for a project does not mean that a subsidy has been received.

A major controversy ensued following the publication of a report by the Guwahati-based digital media outlet 'The Crosscurrent.'

The report claimed that approximately 17 acres of agricultural land in Darigaji village, Kaliabor, Nagaon district, was swiftly reclassified as industrial land shortly after it was acquired by Pride East Entertainments, in which chief minister's wife is Chairman and Managing Director.

Subsequently, over the course of several days, Gaurav Gogoi took to X to level allegations of corruption against Sarma and his wife, particularly in relation to obtaining central government subsidies for the said project.

As Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Gogoi urged Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to thoroughly investigate and disclose the facts surrounding the subsidy granted for the project, which falls under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) and the Scheme for Creation of Infrastructure for Agro Clusters.

Furthermore, the Assam MP highlighted that on March 22, 2023, Goyal, in response to queries in Lok Sabha about the government's efforts to bolster industry in Assam, provided a comprehensive list of food processing projects that received support under the PMKSY component as of January 31, 2022.

The PM Kisan Sampada Yojana is a holistic initiative designed to establish contemporary infrastructure with an effective supply chain management system, spanning from the farm gate to the retail outlet.