Shatrughan Sinha's assets increase by Rs 116.73 crore | Association for Democratic Reforms

Source:

The Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Home/Lok-Sabha-Elections-2014/News/Shatrughan-Sinhas-assets-increase-by-Rs-116-73-crore/articleshow/35612071.cms

Date:

26.05.2014

City:

Patna

Shatrughan Sinha's assets increase by Rs 116.73 crore

Sinha tops the list of 10 re-elected MPs who have shown huge increase in assets, according to the findings of National Election Watch.

PATNA: Filmstar and BJP MP from Patna Sahib, Shatrughan Sinha has declared maximum increase in assets worth Rs 131.74 crore, compared to Rs 15 crore in 2009 Lok Sabha election. The increase is by Rs 116.73 crore.

Sinha tops the list of 10 re-elected MPs who have shown huge increase in assets, according to the findings of National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) after analyzing the affidavits of 165 MPs elected again this year.

Assets of Pinaki Mishra, BJD MP from Puri in Odisha, have increased by Rs 107.40 crore to Rs 137.09 crore from Rs 29.69 crore in 2009. Assets of Supriya Sule, NCP MP from Baramati in Maharashtra, have gone up by Rs 62.37 crore to Rs 113.90 crore, from Rs 51.53 crore during 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

The average assets of each of the 165 re-elected MPs fielded by various parties in 2009 was Rs 5.38 crore. Their average assets in 2014 are now worth Rs 12.78 crore. Their average assets growth between the two Lok Sabha elections is Rs 7.40 crore, said Rajiv Kumar of Bihar Election Watch. The average percentage growth in assets of these 165 MPs is 137%, he said.

Financial details of these MPs have been taken from the recently filed affidavits and the value has been compared to the corresponding value of the assets declared by them in their affidavits in 2009. The assets of 78 re-elected BJP MPs have shown an average increase of Rs 7.48 crore.

NEW and ADR head Major General (retired) Anil Verma and founder members Trilochan Sastry and Jagdeep Chhokar, in a letter to the PM-designate Narendra Modi, wrote that the 16th Lok Sabha has a sizeable number of MPs (112 i.e. 21%) facing serious criminal charges and requested him to include only clean representatives in his cabinet.

"The steady increase in the number of MPs facing criminal charges over the years is a matter of grave concern for the country," the letter stated. While in 2004, the number of MPs facing criminal charges was 24%, which increased to 30% in 2009 and 34% (186) in 2014.

In BJP alone, 98 (35%) out of 281 MPs analyzed have self-declared criminal cases, while 63 (22%) have self-declared serious criminal cases like murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, dacoity, etc pending against them. The letter reminded Modi's commitment to critically examine MPs with self-declared criminal cases and speedy trial of cases against them.