Assam CM's wife files Rs 100 crore defamation suit against Manish Sisodia

Guwahati (Assam), June 22: Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma filed a Rs 100 crore civil defamation suit against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in Civil Judge Court, Kamrup (Metro), Guwahati on Tuesday. The Delhi Minister Sisodia, on June 4, claimed that when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Assam in 2020, the Assam government gave contracts to the Chief Minister's wife's company and son's business partner to sell PPE kits over market pricing. Sarma's lawyer Padmadhar Nayak has said that they are expecting that the case will list on Wednesday and they will move further. Himanta Biswa Sarma had previously threatened legal action against Sisodia after the AAP leader's allegations. Clarifying the matter, the Assam CM had said, "At a time when the entire country was facing the worst pandemic in over 100 years, Assam hardly had any PPE Kits. My wife took the courage of coming forward and donated around 1,500 PPE kits free of cost to the government to save lives. She didn't take a single penny." Reacting to the allegations of irregularities in the supply of PPE kits, the Assam CM stated that PPE kits were "gifted to the government" and his wife's company "raised no bill" for it. Also Read | Sidhu Moosewala murder: Mansa court extends Lawrence Bishnoi’s police custody Sisodia, however, tweeted tagging a bill addressed to the JCB Industries from NHM-Assam mission director S Lakshmanan. "Honorable Chief Minister @himantabiswa Ji! Here is your wife's contract to buy 5000 kits in the name of JCB Industries at 990/- per kit... Tell me, is this paper false? Is it not corruption to give a tender purchase order to your wife's company as a health minister?" he questioned. Rinku Bhuyan Sarma, Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife, had already addressed Sisodia's allegations. She noted, "In the first week of the pandemic, not a single PPE kit was available with Assam. Taking cognizance of the same, I reached out to a business acquaintance and delivered about 1500 PPE kits to NHM with a lot of effort. Later on, I wrote to the NHM to treat the same as part of my CSR." "I didn't take a single penny out of the supply. I have always been transparent about my belief in giving back to society, irrespective of my husband's political standing," she said. Also Read | NDA picks Droupadi Murmu for presidential polls, likely to file nomination on June 25 -PTC News