Soon after assuming charge, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh have got down to serious business. If ‘perform or perish’ is Naidu’s catchword, Modi has sent clear indications of being a taskmaster by asking his Ministers to declare their assets.
Strict enforcement of the Code of Conduct for Ministers, both at the Central and at State levels, is imperative. Going by the past record, the task assumes a greater importance.
This is because under the Congress regime in Andhra Pradesh, this norm was given a quiet burial by a major chunk of the Ministers in the Kiran Kumar Reddy, and earlier his predecessor K. Rosaiah’s, Cabinet, as most of the Ministers did not furnish details in respect of their assets, liabilities and other business interests.
The information was acquired by Ram Mohan Rao Avula, a member of the city-based Consumers’ Guidance Society under the Right to Information Act.
According to the given information, only eight of the 41 Ministers in the Kiran Kumar Reddy Cabinet furnished information of their assets and liabilities to the Special Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
The Ministers who chose to abide by the norm include Kasu Venkata Krishna Reddy, Minister for Cooperation who filed his assets in July 2011, P. Sabitha Indra Reddy, Home Minister who furnished the information in August 2011, Sailajanath Sake and Minister for Primary Education and SSA, who filed the information on May 2010.
Minister for Finance and Planning Anam Ramanarayana last filed the information in August 2011, Minister for Tourism and Culture V. Vasant Kumar, also in August 2011, Minister for Panchayat Raj K. Jana Reddy in March 2011, Minister for Information and Technology Ponnala Lakshmaiah in 2011 and Minister for Rural Development Manikya Vara Prasad Rao who furnished details of his assets and liabilities in 2012.
Interestingly, Mr. Jana Reddy is the single Minister who filed his assets for the year 2012-13.
