Team News Riveting
Guwahati, June 4
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said he would file a criminal defamation case against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia for alleging that the Assam government had given contracts to his wife’s firms and son’s business partner to supply PPE kits above market rates during COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“’Stop sermonising. I will see you in Guwahati as you (Sisodia) will face criminal defamation,” Sarma said in a tweet. In another tweet, he stated that during the peak of the COVID Pandemic, Assam hardly had any PPE kits. He went on to state that this was the reason why his wife donated 1500 PPE kits to the state government without charging even a single penny.
The Chief Minister also attached a letter of appreciation from the then National Health Mission director Dr. Lakshmanan for providing the PPE kits as corporate social responsibility during COVID-19 by JCB Industries, of which Sarma’s wife Rinki Sarma Bhuyan is a partner.
Sisodia in a tweet had attached the supply order of 5000 kits at the rate of Rs 990 from NHM to JCB Industries on March 18, 2020. The Delhi Deputy CM referring to media reports at a press conference in New Delhi on Saturday, said that while the Assam government procured PPE kits for Rs 600 a piece from other companies, Sarma gave urgent supply orders to the firms of his wife and son’s business partners for Rs 990 a piece “taking advantage of the emergency situation.”
”Due to acute shortage then, every government, including yours (Delhi government) waived the tender for PPE kit and went for direct purchase. Don’t cherry-pick from half the documents. Have the courage to put (forward) all the facts. Don’t show half of a document trail, have the courage to put all the facts”, Sarma tweeted.
