Veteran politician Arun Dey has hailed the decision of Naveen Patnaik for submission of property lists by the elected representatives and Government officials. He observed that it is an unprecedented move and said Patnaik was the first Chief Minister of India to bring such an excellent initiative to weed out corruption from public life.
He said although Biju Patnaik made such an attempt way back in 1992 during his Chief Minister period yet it couldn’t sustain after a year or so. More so, the initiative of Naveen is far more extensive and effective than the Biju’s, the former MLA from Baleswar said. “In Biju’s time it( submission of property list) was made for the MLAs and they were to submit reports to the Speaker. But in this case ( Naveen’s initiative), all the elected representatives from Sarpanch to the MLA,MP have to submit a list to the Government which would be in public domain,” said BJD leader Dey.
Although an instruction for the Central Government officials was there to submit their property list each year, yet they were to submit in sealed cover which were neither opened nor scrutinized, owing to which Pathak like top officials amassed massive illgot wealth, said Dey. The open publication of list in website would enhance transparency and build confidence upon the system among common men, Dey asserted.
He, however, said that the property list submitted by the MLAs , MPs and top officials should be scrutinized by a dedicated team of Vigilance to find out whether they have procured any Benami property.
He further said that not only the elected representatives and Government officials should submit the property list, they should also give the details of the properties in the name of their spouse and other relatives. The five time former lawmaker also maintained that democracy means transparency and accountability. Dey alleged that the electoral bond and the PM CARES lack adequate transparency. “In the US the political parties do collect donations for their expenditures towards elections but they publish the list of donors. Here in India electoral bonds are opaque," told Dey.