Who said only the listed companies need to make disclosures?
Even the politicians are required to make disclosures from time to time. That is, from election time to election time.
Are these disclosures correct and verifiable? Who cares? The Election Commission of India does its duty diligently and publishes the wealth data submitted by the various candidates in its website. The data published is unfortunately is not in a database form. It is in the form of scanned images of the affidavits filed by the candidates.
We do not know if it was a deliberate attempt by the Election Commission so that data cannot be searched and compared. Or it was because of lack of time / resources.
I do not buy the second argument. We are supposed to be one of the leading countries in the world in Information Technology and outsourcing services.
If EC wanted, they could have hired the best of IT companies in India to develop a nice software that will record the information filed by each candidate contesting the elections in database form. And hired another company to do the data entry for even the previously filed affidavits. But, either there is no intention with the Election Commission or there is none to think in those lines there.
If you are a common man and want to take a ration card there are umpteen proofs you have to produce to prove that “you are you” and what you submit is genuine. For politicians such things are not required. They have to just state things in their sworn affidavits and need not prove anything.
We do not also know if Election Commission takes up these affidavits and probes the information through an independent agency.
So, we have politicians disclosing what they feel like disclosing (without proofs) and escaping attention.
Read the below story. It might surprise you that the youngest Gandhi in the Congress side of the election spectrum disclosing that he doesn’t even own a car. May be he should now start saving money for buying a Tata Nano.
Rahul Gandhi doesn’t own a car
SULTANPUR (Uttar Pradesh): The total worth of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is around Rs.2.25 crore (Rs.22.5 million/$450,000), and the young scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family does not own a vehicle, according to an affidavit filed by him Saturday.
Rahul Gandhi, 38, who is seeking re-election from Amethi, filed his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha seat Saturday afternoon. The affidavit filed as part of the documents says his assets total around Rs.2.25 crore.
The Congress general secretary wrote nil against the column asking whether he owns a vehicle.
And the cash deposit that he owns, with the State Bank of India, Delhi, is not much either – Rs.70,000.
He has deposits with financial institutions worth Rs.7,000.
His deposits with non banking financial institution, NDFC (National Development Finance Corporation) is Rs.742,966. With the HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation) in New Delhi, he has Rs.341,892. Both are long term deposits.
Rahul Gandhi’s deposits with postal savings, the Life Insurance Corporation and the National Savings Scheme total Rs.1,029,128 (over Rs.1 million).
He owns 333 gm of jewellery worth Rs.150,000.
His assets, including values of claims and interests, are Rs.729,621.
He also owns agricultural land in two places. A 4.692 acre land in Mehrauli, Delhi, of which an undemarcated 50 percent is his share. The value is Rs.986,244 as on March 31, 2008.
He owns another plot of six acres in Faridabad, Haryana, worth Rs.2,822,000 (over Rs.28 lakh).
He owns two shops in the Metropolitan Mall in Saket, New Delhi. Shop no.24 in the mall is 514 sq ft and valued at Rs.55 lakh.
Another shop on the ground floor – 996 sq ft – is valued at Rs.1 crore 8 lakhs (Rs.10,800,000).
Against liabilities, he filed that je had taken a Rs.70 lakh loan from HDFC in 2006, of which Rs.23 lakh has to be returned.
He has paid income tax of Rs.1,120,880 and sales tax of Rs.532,000.
He paid property tax of Rs.78,000 this year.
According to the documents filed, Rahul Gandhi is an M.Phil in development economics from Trinity College, University of Cambridge, 1995. He has done his Bachelor in Arts from Rollins College, Florida, in 1994.
He filed his nomination at the Sultanpur District Collectorate at the office of the additional district magistrate Radhey Shyam, who is the returning officer for the Amethi Lok Sabha polls.
There are no criminal cases pending against the Amethi MP.
Source: www.expressbuzz.com
Here are some comments posted by the readers of this news item at www.expressbuzz.com
since indians are feeding him on tax payers money why will be buy anything!!!
By kk
4/4/2009 9:19:00 PMBy the way when BJP comes to power … Rajanath and Modi will drive Rahul out of politics in their chariot, so there is no need to spend on Nano for now… So soniaji please wait before deciding on a vehicle for Rahul. Incase rahul wins and Manmohan gets a hearth attack and Cong gets AIADMK, DMK, PMK, RJD and even BJPs support, then make Rahul go and come in that shiny new jet selected by Prez Pratiba your first servant of this great nation.
By Ravanaisnorama
4/4/2009 7:35:00 PMAmma Sonia must think of presenting sonny Rahul a Nano. Not the Tata company itself? indira’s amby? What happened to Donga jeep kept by rajiv stolen?
By Ravanaisnorama
4/4/2009 7:27:00 PMHow very funny, Rahul Gandhi does not own a car!!!, but he owns TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CRORES in his Caymen Islands and other accounts, money he illegally got by manipulating the stock market with criminal finance Minister Chidambaram’s son. With Chidambaram’s unscruplous acts of making the stock markets to rise or fall when they wanted – people like Rahul who dont care about India make millions of people to lose their entire livelihood. Politics of unreal things and not facts, of course Indians are gullible to rhetoric because most of us are uneducated, so we can easily be fooled by harmful parasites like Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi and traitors like Chidambaram. It is ashame Congress does not try to have a leader other than Sonia. Sonia is not just some Italian, she is a member of the Italian mafia and is out to bankrupt India.
By Sumi
4/4/2009 7:16:00 PMHow very funny, Rahul Gandhi does not own a car!!!, but he owns TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CRORES in his Cymen Islands and other accounts, money he illegally got by manipulating the stock market with criminal finance Minister Chidambaram’s son. With Chidambaram’s unscruplous acts of making the stock markets to rise or fall when they wanted – people like Rahul who dont care about India make millions of people to lose their entire livelihood. Politics of unreal things and not facts, of course Indians are gullible to rhetoric because most of us are uneducated, so we can easily be fooled by harmful parasites like Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi and traitors like Chidambaram. It is ashame Congress does not try to have a leader other than Sonia. Sonia is not just some Italian, she is a member of the Italian mafia and is out to bankrupt India.
By Sumi
4/4/2009 7:15:00 PMSo his assets multiplied 4-5 time is last 5 years. I liked it, at cambridge you can get M.Phil. after BA in one year, without MA. Isn’t it funny?
Apr 4, 2009 at 10:39:48
Rahul is such a poorfellow that he does not own a car even. How he is now travelling to all the places? At the cost of the party? Where party gets money from?
Congressmen are known for accumulation of wealth. Mr. Wealth(PC) is there with them for & at all times.
I would recommend BJP to add this as one of the activity/action item in their manifesto.
Apr 4, 2009 at 10:40:16
It is really hair-raising to know this fact. For that matter you can see any politician’s assets in India and it wont be more than that. They all will be having in their binami’s name. Its a fate of this country to have such goondas to lead our country. Such a young guy, who is supposed to share younger generation’s views, is involving in corruption instead of removing it. What a patriotic PM we are going to have in future. I strongly feel, Varun Gandhi should become our PM, there starts the end of ill-health of our country.