Cocking a snook at the government orders only three members from Uttar Pradesh legislative Assembly have declared their assets as per official government gazette here published early this month.
The MlAs’ declarations made public on the state government’s gazette showed several blank columns. MlAs were asked to declare details of their movable and immovable assets and liabilities by March 31 but only three of them filed their assets, sources in the State Assembly secretariat said.
Congress Member of legislative Assembly from lucknow Cantonment and former state Congress president Dr Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Bharatiya Janta Party MlA from Meerut state president Dr laxmikant Bajpai and SP MlA from Deoria Manbodh Prasad are the only three MlA’s out of a total of 404 members in the State Assembly who have declared their assets, as per official documents.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who had declared his assets after coming to power in 2012 has also failed to comply with the government orders. However, in 2012 Yadav was the first SP member to put up his assets on the government website, claiming that it was the first step towards transparency in governance.
BJP state unit president laxmi Kant Bajpai said it was a shame that state’s Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav himself had not submitted his details. Whereas, only one member from the ruling Samajwadi Party has disclosed assets when the party is considered to be front-runner in transparency and following socialist ideology. Even popular SP leaders, like Shivpal Singh Yadav, Mokhammad Azam Khan along with 21 other cabinet ministers in SP have given a cold shoulder on revealing their properties.
Bahujan Samaj Party’s 80 MlA’s, 10 MlA’s of Rashtriya lok Dal and one nominated member along with several others independent MlAs are yet to disclose assets. Altogether 22 MlA’s from Indian National Congress, excpet Dr Joshi, did not bother to reveal assets. BJP’s 47 MlA’s, of which 11 became MP’s in the just concluded lok Sabha elections had disclosed their assets as per laws.
Official say the Uttar Pradesh Ministers and legislators (Publication of Assets & liabilities) Act (1975) made it mandatory for each and every member of the state assembly to submit details or their assets and liabilities within the first 20 days of the new financial year. While the rule always existed, it was taken more seriously after the anti-corruption movement gathered momentum last year.
last year, the BJP had asked all its state office bearers to declare their assets with the state party president and MlAs to submit details of their assets in the office of state legislative Assembly Speaker. After some state office bearers raised objections that the MlAs, who received huge development funds from the government, Bajpai had issued directives to all the office bearers of the state team and MlAs to make their assets public.