Eighteen of Maharashtra’s 40 Ministers have flouted Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan’s directive to declare their assets, reveals the answer to an RTI query.
This information comes in the wake of recent raids conducted by the Income Tax department on the properties of Minister Bhaskar Jadhav after he conducted his son and daughter’s weddings extravagantly in Ratnagiri district.
According to city-based Right to Information activist Anil Galgali, only 22 Ministers have submitted details of their assets to the CM’s office despite Mr. Chavan importuning them — first in December 2010 when he first took office and again in April 2011.
While Mr. Chavan and his deputy Ajit Pawar disclosed their assets, prominent defaulters include R.R. Patil (Home), Narayan Rane (Industry), Jayant Patil (Rural Development), Harshawardhan Patil (Cooperatives and Parliamentary Affairs) and Mohd. Arif Naseem Khan (Minorities Affairs), besides Mr. Jadhav.
