Income of netas: One MLA declared 5,000 per cent increase in assets
A newly-elected Rajya Sabha MP declared an asset growth of over 21 times since his last affidavit.
The Income Tax Department in a sealed cover submitted the names of MPs and MLAs whose income had witnessed a meteoric rise since the past two elections.
The Association for Democratic Reforms had filed an application to be impleaded as co-petitioner in the case filed by Lucknow-based NGO Lok Prahari. It contended that a number of people filing self-attested affidavits on their assets were not disclosing details of Income Tax returns.
According to Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) that works for electoral reforms, assets of four current Lok Sabha MPs have increased by 12 times while 22 others declared five-fold increase in their assets.
A
newly-elected
Rajya
Sabha
MP
declared
an
asset
growth
of
over
21
times
since
his
last
affidavit.
Seven
other
newly
elected
Rajya
Sabha
MPs
have
declared
two-fold
asset
increase,
said
ADR.
Citing
instances
of
an
exponential
increase
in
assets
held
by
lawmakers
in
just
five
years,
the
petitioner
Association
for
Democratic
Reforms
(ADR)
said
assets
of
four
sitting
Lok
Sabha
members
had
increased
by
1,200
per
cent.
There
was
500
per
cent
increase
in
assets
of
22
other
Lok
Sabha
members.
The ADR had cited in January that the assets of an Assam legislator with declared increase of over 5,000 per cent in his assets. In the case of another legislator, from Kerala, the increase in assets is over 1,700 per cent since the 2011 assembly elections.
The petitioner said an analysis of assets declared during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and 2016 Rajya Sabha elections, as well as elections to Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Assam and West Bengal assemblies, revealed "abnormal increase" in assets of many members of Parliament and assemblies.
Lok Prahari told the court that candidates filing nomination papers were disclosing their assets and those of their spouse, children, and other dependents but not sources of income through which they came to possess these.
The NGO said some lawmakers were thriving on easy money and of the 542 Lok Sabha members, 113 have described their profession as housewife, social worker, social service and politics.
OneIndia News