Shekhawat declares his assets and liabilities

New Delhi, July 13: In a tactical move, Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhwat today declared his movable and immovable assets and liabilities ahead of the presidential polls in the interest of 'transparency and probity in public life'.

Releasing details of his assets and liabilities in the same format as required to be submitted by a Member of Parliament and MLAs in states at the time of filing nomination papers, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, spokesperson for Mr Shekhawat's elections, said Mr Shekhawat had done this on his own volition and was certainly not pressurising his UPA rival Pratibha Patil to come out with such a declaration.

''There is no law which compels her to do so. It is her wish if she wants to declare her assets and liabilities'', Mrs Swaraj said.

Mr Shekhwat's 55-long years of political life has been 'spotless white' and he has faced no criminal case anywhere in India. I do not wish to say anything about Mrs Patil from this forum meant for campaigning for the Vice President who is contesting as an Independent backed by the NDA in the Presidential poll scheduled for July 18, she said.

Mr Shekhawat, who has also declared the assets and liabilities of his wife Suraj Kanwar, shows that the couple have cash in hand of Rs 100,000 and Rs 1.25 lakh respectively and deposits worth Rs 25 lakh each in various banking and non-banking institutions.

They hold no shares or debentures or any other financial instruments like NSS, postal saving LIC policies. Mr Shekhwat has jewellery worth one lakh rupees while his wife has gold jewellery worth Rs 5.25 lakh and silver utensils worth Rs 3.9 lakh.

The couple own an army-disposed jeep and a 1980 model Ambassador car in their names.

The Vice President owns 0.99 hectare of ancestral land in Khachariawas in Sikar district of Rajastan and his wife holds 6.28 hectare of land in Milakpur in Jaipur district. They own no non-agricultural land. Mr Shekhawat has 1/16th of a share in his ancestral house while his wife owns a plot in Jaipur, purchased for Rs 30,000 in 1981. The current value of this plot as per the DLC rates was Rs 1.54 crore. Apart from this, they own no apartments or houses.

Mrs Shekhwat has disputed claim over 22 bhigas in Beed Sarkari Tehsil in Jaipur for which the case has been pending in the High Court and a plot in Civil Lines, Jaipur purchased for Rs 7.6 lakh in 1995 which was not registered because of a dispute and its current value was Rs 55 lakh.

The couple do not have any outstanding dues be it loans from any financial institutions, power or water supply departments or telephones or owe any money to the government for transport including aircraft and helicopters.

UNI