Air India might not be doing as well we'd like it to. But the braveheart who flew it fearlessly into dense clouds of debt is doing okay. Praful Patel (who no longer holds the aviation portfolio) added, on average, over half a million rupees every day to his assets in 28 months between May 2009 and August 2011. This might be an understated figure since it is based on his own word. Ministers tend to be modest in these matters. But given the official data, the math is inescapable.
In his 2009 poll affidavit, Mr. Patel said his assets were worth over Rs.79 crore. Let's assume he listed all he had up to April 2009, the polls being in May that year. Compare that figure with the more than Rs.122 crore that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) put up against his name online this month. Since this increase occurred in 28 months, my math says that averages over Rs.5 lakh a day. (I can add, though not at the speed of Mr. Patel.)
Air India, meanwhile, struggles to pay salaries to its employees. Mr. Patel adds more to his wealth every day than each of 40 per cent of the airline's employees earns in a year. So while the airline might get grounded, he flies high. As an ex-Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) chief said decades ago (of ailing private units): the sicker the units grew, the healthier the owners got. That crudely fits the state of the Indian poor in relation to their government. The worse off they become, the healthier the Union Cabinet gets. (Drag corporate bosses into the equation and it's more dramatic. But that's another story.) Patel was rewarded for services rendered. He was elevated to Cabinet rank as Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
The analysis of the Union Cabinet's assets, done as thoroughly as always by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the National Election Watch (NEW), makes crisp reading. It's official. Trickle Down is passé. Lift Irrigation, sending flows gushing to the top, is in. The average asset worth of a union minister rose from Rs.7.3 crore to Rs.10.6 crore in those 28 months. Adding a modest million a month on average through 28 months.
Mr. Patel is the richest Union Cabinet member by far. But the DMK's Dr. S. Jagathrakshakan made a bold dash to fame. The Minister of State (MoS) for Information and Broadcasting's assets grew by 1,092 per cent to Patel's 53 per cent. According to the ADR's analysis, his assets went up from Rs.5.9 crore in 2009 to Rs.70 crore this year. But Patel, batting on 122, still tops the Cabinet Premier League. The DMK man might have worked up a scorching pace, but Patel's dug in for a good, long innings.
Meanwhile, the dashing youth brigade isn't doing too badly either. Young Milind Deora, MoS for Communications and Information Technology, almost doubled his assets between 2009 and 2011. He went from over Rs.17 crore to more than Rs.33 crore. Consider that his 2004 poll affidavit pegged his worth at Rs.8.8 crore. Adding almost a lakh every day on average for seven years and nearly quadrupling your assets in that time isn't so bad.
On the face of it, Deora has outclassed Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. Going by their declarations, Deora is two-and-a-half times richer than the mighty Maratha. He was richer than him even in 2009, but increased his assets by almost 90 per cent since then. Pawar failed to add even a paltry Rs.4 crore in the same time. Which means he clocks in at under Rs.12.5 crore, all told. A kindly account making the rounds in his home state is that Pawarsaheb was slightly confused over whether the declaration called for revealing his total asset worth or a statement of monthly income.
Another modest performer is Minister of Science & Technology Vilasrao Deshmukh. He's added a piffling Rs.1.73 crore since 2009. Mr. Deshmukh is also Minister of Earth Sciences. (A title seen in Maharashtra as jargon for Real Estate expertise.)
Otherwise, the cricket caucus in Dr. Manmohan Singh's team is doing well. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and new IPL boss Rajeev Shukla added over Rs.22 crore in those 28 months to his total asset worth. That takes it from over Rs.7 crore in 2009 to more than Rs.30 crore this year.
It's not just serving ministers who are thriving, though. Nor are the upwardly mobile confined to the Centre. As always, the bulk of the Guinness Book stuff comes out of two of my ‘home states.' Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. (I have a third, actually: Tamil Nadu — which is where Jagathrakshakan comes from, so the scope for native pride is pretty large.) But let's turn to Andhra Pradesh. Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy is not in power. This has not hampered his entrepreneurial march. In 24 months till April this year, he added well over Rs.357 crore to his just-under Rs.72 crore-figure of April 2009. This means he added on average over Rs.50 lakh every single day during this period. Considering he's been embattled on all fronts, this is no minor achievement. Now you know what the pundits mean when they speak of the dynamism of Generation Next in politics.
Only Chandrababu Naidu, alas, has grown poorer. The former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister made public his asset worth in view of ‘the climate' ushered in by the Anna Hazare era. Mr. Naidu isn't even worth Rs.40 lakh. There is no immediate cause for concern over his livelihood though. His wife is worth almost Rs.40 crore. Yet, the relative picture is a microcosm of Andhra politics: Jagan on the rise, Naidu in decline. But while The Fates have not been kind to Mr. Naidu, his accountants have been more generous. His Jubilee Hill property (1,125 square yards, or over 10,000 square feet) shows up as worth no more than Rs.23.20 lakh. Now this is the costliest locality in Andhra Pradesh. So building a 10,000 square-foot home there, on that amount, argues great frugality. But wasn't it worth nearly Rs.9 crore in his 2009 poll affidavit? This time around Mr. Naidu gives us only the ‘cost of acquisition' and not the market value, since the latter ‘varies from time to time.'
There are, though, serious lessons to be learnt from all of this beyond the need for smart accountants. This insane rise in affluence and wealth is not just about ministers but about MPs and MLAs too. And leaders at all levels of the main political forces, particularly the Congress, the BJP and most ruling or big parties in the states. The number of crorepatis is up in Parliament and every State assembly. In Maharashtra, they went up from 108 in 2004 to 186 in 2009. Over three-fourths of the Union Cabinet are crorepatis. Much of their new wealth was acquired while in office.
Thanks to public anger and the persistence of the ADRs and NEWs, data on this comes more into the open. That is excellent. But all declarations must include what they paid as taxes. That would allow the public to make slightly better sense of the numbers. If you want transparency in public service, surely that should include having all their returns online, too. This would be a major reform, one amongst the many we badly need. Another is penalties for cheating. ADR shows us ministers whose declarations do not include 12 residential buildings they own.
We need to have a serious audit, starting with the wealth of the Union Cabinet. How do people make half a million rupees a day while in office? Remember most of them made the greatest additions to their wealth while ‘serving' the public. Surely we are owed answers on this. Mere disclosure of wealth is not enough. If it is so grotesquely large, we need to know how it was made.
In late April, the Planning Commission filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court defending a per capita expenditure of Rs.20 a day as a viable cut-off line for determining poverty in urban India. For rural India that was just Rs.15. They say they might give the Rs.20 figure a generous upgrade — all the way to Rs.25. Remember the report of the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector headed the late Dr. Arjun Sengupta? It recorded that 836 million Indians live on Rs.20 a day or less. How do our clubs of crorepatis represent these masses? Or do some start by doing so and lose anchor very quickly? How do we curb this? It's something to think about. So are the profound changes of the last 20 years that have made it so difficult for any but millionaires to contest elections, let alone win them.
Well, if a primary school kid says that only Rs.26/- per day is necessary for survival for a human today, he will be asked to go back and do his homework properly before answering next time.
If Planning Commission Vice-chair says the same, he will become guru of modern economics and get to fly to Davos and Las Vegas for economic "summits"
Top down or bottoms up its the same story of corrupt DNA heavily influenced by the dirty environment. The only hope is the 5 percent of ambitious youth who want to be the topper and change the system. No one is corruption proof,its the malady like cancer which invades eventually. We have to rely on a critical mass of relatively honest people to improve governance. Be clever and change policy for the better. After all Railway reservation did improve. Gold smuggling vanished.Life expectancy has got better. Often harped disparity should not ignore the betterment of base line.
What baffles me immensely is the sheer inertia and apathy of Indian masses to be burgled,raped and demonised by the power at the top. This capitulation has to stop. Wake up. Its res ipsa liquitor(the thing speaks for it self). The corruption by the serving leaders is so obvious,as in your face as a Surgeon leaving the knife in the tummy of patient. Whatever the explanation,its obvious criminality is glaring.
While I wholeheartedly agree that our politicians should disclose the source of their revenues, I disagree with the general tone of the article, particularly "It recorded that 836 million Indians ... represent these masses?"
Nehru was born in a fairly well-to-do family. I think he represented our masses pretty well. Presence or absence of wealth does not qualify/disqualify one's ability to lead. Having said that, it is a sad that monetary power/caste/glamor translates to political gains today. This just demonstrates how ignorant/corrupt/lethargic the masses are. A democracy is a system of averages. Our leadership just represents this average, not the best or the worst among us. And them being corrupt should hence not come as a surprise. We as a society are mired in corruption in every aspect of our life. From the milk wala who charges 50ps more, the constable who fines without a receipt, the bus conductor who doesn't cut tickets, everyone. It is inevitable that our leaders are corrupt.
An interesting article, whereas the common man struggles with rising
prices our ministers wealth grows exponentially faster than the rate
of rising prices. As mentioned in the article, we need to ponder over
whether the elected representatives are in any sense representatives
of the people. Also, the rising number of crorepatis seem to suggest
that the legislative bodies are becoming clubs for rich people. Also
their rising wealth seem to suggest that membership to these clubs
have added benefits.
The analysis is supported by an ever better sense of humor. Well done Mr.Sainath, this is a fabulous piece of journalism. But the problem, all the other paid news channels will just get a new way of earning money from the politicians ! I keep saying this to The Hindu - please expand and have a reach to all corners of the country. Indian media is in a sorry state, and the public needs you.
Article is no doubt mindblowing. But,what I feel most necessary the social and religious leaders should come forward with awareness programme at the time of poll/election to select a suitable candidate or political party to achieve the goal of corruption free society. Self realisation is necessary as well as proper understanding of the effects of selecting a wrong candidate at poll is equally important.
"It recorded that 836 million Indians live on Rs.20 a day or less. How do our clubs of crorepatis represent these masses?"
I think this says it all.
Excellent report on the health of our netas. Probably Pawar Saheb is suffering from selective amnesia and has forgotten to add several zeros to his asset. 'clean' PM is presiding over the Govt. where his cabinet colleagues/partymen strip the exchequer,when around 830 million people in our country live on less than Rs 20/ a day. When it comes to Aam aadmi, Planning Commission is generous in lowering the cut-off line for determining poverty line. The growth of Rajas,Kalmadis ,Patels and Pawars testify that our netas are serving Aam aadmi to the best of their abilities! Our PM with'impeccable integrity' tag has every right to proclaim that his Govt. has received people's mandate in 2009 to rule for full five years and the opposition and Aam aadmi have no option other than to wait till 2014 if they have different views. Hail Indian democracy!!!
In a period of much TRUMPETED rapid GDP expansion, under this Govt , there is no growth in jobs (employment generation actually decreased sharply between 2004-05 and 2009-10-ref India’ statistical survey July09-Jun10) s and there is 'despair driven exodus' from rural areas ( ref-latest Census report)! Then whom is the 8-10 % annual GDP growth really benefitting ?Thanks to this article by Sainath, we now know ! Even after 65 years of Independence of which 60 years were under the Congress , majority Indians are still kept deprived and desperate. While towns and cities get over-crowded, most Indians still struggle to obtain basic public services that wealthier , more secure countries take for granted . Truly the GDP growth being trumpeted by this Govt is not in the nations long term intertest , but a coverup for the brazen loot of the nation . I would request journalists like Sainath and similiar well meaning journalists in the country to make it feasible for such headlines to appear in the media : “WHAT GROWTH IS INDIA TALKING ABOUT AND WHO BENEFITS FROM THIS KIND OF GDP GROWTH ?”, so that it becomes a topic of national debate soon .
A hard hitting article, as usual, by Sainath made my eyeballs pop. Can Sainath also pen an article on viable solutions to this rich-poor divide creation by power hungry politicians?
Although its an excellent piece of article, the author still can't resist including the name BJP. Come on, if you don't have any evidence or citing, please don't spread such negativity about any party. BJP is the sole national party else than Congress and track record much much better than the looter's party. Hope better sense prevail
Very Good article by Sainath,but I agreé with Gopal Vaidya's views.Congrats Mr.Sainath be bold in writing, do not take religion, caste,or party in to account.
What about the wealth of Narendra Modi ? This FACT is completely overlooked !
It is a shame on the part of the statisticians who claim that 20 rupees is sufficient to live in Urban India and 15 rupees is sufficient to live in rural India. Either they are sitting in a five star hotel and doing this research or they are worthless bunch of buffoons headed by another buffoon who calls himself an economist. The economists and statisticians should feel ashamed of their total apathy towards common man. However, the spokesperson of congress says that they are empirical results. There should be criminal punishment for academic dishonesty.Thank you dear Sainath for bringing these facts to light.
Excellent article.For purchasing modern weapons and training the police personal ,we don't have money.Loyality, honesty are just words in dictionary , for this so called elected representatives.
Sainath did not learn his morals well! Self help is the best help. Let us congratulate the union cabinet for doing well! I remembered Brecht who once made a character say, "since the government has lost confidence on the people let us dissolve the people". I hope Manmohanji remembers that the Government can dissolve the people!
I nearly missed this article of P Sainath. In mid 70's there was a gang of 4 in China, & though we in India use parlimentary democratic language , the fact is that 90% of Indians are DICTATED by a gang of 10. The article is more arresting as it juxtaposes the ammassment of wealth by the Public Servants while the same Public Servants have decided that earning Rs 25 per day is not a qualifier for below poverty line. In fact these very statements should be treated as human rights violations.If elected representatives of the people have temper tantrums on earning more than beauracrats, surely the common man should decide that nothing less than Rs 20000/ per month is a dignified wage for a family of four with Food grains from PDS, Free School Education , and free medical facility . Let the Elected look to making this happen & not waste time & national resourse on nueclear energy,capitalistic economics and an indecent desire to belong to the trillionaires club.
Its another e.g of what Mr Sainath says "globalizing Inequality", How can you sustain a society where such massive disparities exist, one hand we have 46 crore people living under 32 Rs per day (as per figures given by planning commission) on the other we have billionaire leaders leading hem!! Gross irony for the proponents of "India growth Story"!!
Nothing is new in the article.However the impact, if it is able to create, will be the new one. When politicians send priviledge notice to the corruption fighters like Ms Bedi,Mr Khejriwal and the group, they actually mean it. And the meaning is that the politicians are really priviledged people and law should not be equally applied on them.No investigation shall be done on the meteoritic rise in their wealth.Neither should they be subjected to any notices explaining their rise.Because they are the priviledged class representing the most underpriviledged class of our nation.
Instead of writing a generalised article on the "presumed loot" of these politicians in 28 months, investigative reporters should be encouraged by the editor of Hindu, to go after one politician like Jagathrakshagan and bring out the facts about all his declared assets as per his affidavit and more importantly the hidden facts about the undeclared assets. Mr Jagathrakshagan should be cornered with the question as to a) Reveal his IT and WT returns for the last 3 years b) Give all facts and figures including audited financial results of all his firms in the last 3 years c) Question the basis of valuation of all his undervaled and hidden assets as also year and cost of acquisition of all these assets. The cat will be out soon if the minister agrees to provide the information.
Bloody crooks! Hindu, please do us a favour and investigate as to how such wealth was accumulated over the the last two years by these selfish criminals!
50 Lacs a day! Even Carlos Slim would be awestruck to know this...Actually common man like me dont have any idea on per day earnings of Billionaires but 50 lacs is staggering amount. Can not believe myself, I am living in a country led by depraves. I am ashamed.
And all of this in a recession.
Thanks to the hindu and Sainath for a excellent article on wealth growth rate of our ministers. Income Tax dept will serve notices to poor employees even for the class 4 employees and recover the taxes retrospectively. It seems our democratic India only serving and enriching very few Indians. This results in suicides of around 11,00,000 farmers in the last 11 years. One day 1.13 billion minus wealthy people will make revolution and crush disparities .
Mr. Sainath's articles are always incisive. This one more particularly so. Nestled in oodles of witty sarcasm, it makes for a good read though. I hope the suggestions made are pursued seriously. One other related idea is to subject the assets/enterprises in which sitting members of legislatures and their kin have an interest to public audits to corroborate information as declared.
Take my word, if things on the corruption front is not dealt effectively we may see urban naxalism soon in India, eliminate these crooks to cleanse the system.
The picture says it all. Only if there was an SUV or 1500CC motorcycle whizzing by with an MLA / MP or his son/daughter riding by would have been the icing on the cake! Am sure there are hundreds (if not thousands) of such cars going by on the roads of Delhi outside Yojana Bhan
Mr.Sainath,: Will you please ask the PMO to clarify if they are forwarding these declarations to CVC, Income Tax authorities to verify against the 'known' sources of income and certify them? Also, these luminaries MUST BE ASKED BY PMO to declare WHAT WAS THE SOURCE OF THEIR INCOME. Then the great economist that our PM is, he can teach us, common citizen, how to adopt their methods to earn at least 2-3 % monthly of what they earn daily. We probably can then ask them to rule eternally as we will no more have to do 25 rupee per day math.
this article shows how democracy is misused in this country.all this economic growth and largest GDP are just false estimates.we are still under utter poverty although politicians and celebrities filled their bank accounts.liberal economy didn't help farmers and labor.it helped politicians and bureaucrats to effectively loot this country.yellow media which covers most of Indian news channel don't care about these things as much they care about rakhi sawant,rahul gandhi.
my best wishes to Sainath and The hindu for exposing real India.
Great work!This reveals the honesty and loyalty of our elected representatives.Now you can easily justify the Anna's fight against corruption and need of a strong lokpal bill to punish those who are at fault.Also with the ever increasing inflation rate,the BPL level criteria is not increasing with that proportion.How far is this justified??
Can misery be part of institutional practice? could it be a cause! it is a crucial to think on trends in financial prosperity of institutional heads with the increase in misery among poor.
Very good article.. Hope someone makes a PIL out of this...
factually incorrect.. 836 million do not live on less than Rs.20 a day. I'm pretty sure about that. I think the numbers were more like 40% of our population, which is say 450 million.. still quite high, but definitely not 836 million
An excellent article published. now is the time for the judiciary and the public to act . All the MPS and MLAs should be brought to financial scrutiny and those having unproportionate wealth to their means should be confiscated and add to the exchequer. if it is done the present price rise and all the ills will vanish. When people with no income/less income struggle to get a square meals a day these pythons living a luxurious life add wealth for their generations. it is possible in India only
This data must be far lesser than the actual numbers. Nobody knows about wads of cash stashed in tax havens like swiss banks.
This is only official figure which seems unreliable. How come one ordinary citizen is showing his property on recent market prize of acquired land and Representative are not. This article shows the depth of chronic corruption across India. These figure are really very abhorrent and make me shocked.
Sainath as always been excellent in his writings. A great public eye opener.
this has been the past, we should now look at ways to ensure that these things do not happen again. 1 Election commission should start a fresh inquiry with a team of financial experts and income tax department, and come out with a report on these people, if even an iota of evidence is found, these politicians must be banned for life time for elections and even political parties and alliances. 2.a separate dedicated IT team accountable to CAG should be formed to keep a tab on earning and accounts of politicians. 3. serious electoral reforms are needed to face the situation, a new mechanism of law formation must to evolved to keep a check on government officials and political executive as Mr. Anna hazare and his team has rightly sought public referendum. UID to be made compulsory, referendum should be computer-based(through kiosks in rural areas, mandatory participation from public. much more needs to be done, we need 1 million anna hazares to achieve.
Dear Sir, It is really good that Hindu has brought this out and as rightly pointed by the writer, the Government should also ask how was the wealth earned and the tax filed. If this is not asked the law making the candidates declare their asset details will become a mere formality.
Ah, yes! We, the common citizens, are told that 'parliament is supreme'. It certainly is. At making money, of course. If one wants a say in how the country is run, one must put one's money where one's mouth is and get 'elected' my friend. Money is needed to make money. Mammonifique!
Anna, instead of asking for a Lokpal bill, should have fasted for an independent audit into accounts of Ministers, their families and those of our bureaucrats and civil servants. That done, and the poor allowed to lynch those with unexplained crores, one would not have needed a Lokpal bill. China is as corrupt, but when caught the guilty like Praful Patel are tied to a stake and shot. Our problem is that the CEO of the country is a bureaucrat himself - slow in the brain, slow to take action against the guilty and a voice that needs ten microphones to be heard. Any other CEO with some self respect and to keep his honesty intact would have resigned long ago. But then he is an Indian.
Great informative article .Once a person comes in office one make sure that he earns all life time of money. Understand a hard working professor who does a noblest work earns only say 20 crore in life time . These people are making this just rise in year... How much salary they earn ?? How much they really cost for us ?? Where is clear salary compensation letter of each of them ? Why such people are not hunt down till their warrens ? What should poor person think ?? These people are in same old profession ... to loot our public property .... no body can stop them literally no body ! This should be next agenda for Anna.
The fault lies with the voters of our country and their mindset. otherwise why 60% of our voters who are poor will choose 90% of their representatives who are quite well off and some of them are stinking rich. the solution of the problem lies within the problem. only the print and electronic media can make the voters aware and can change the electoral picture drastically.
Shocking revelations....it is important to have a system where voters have the right to recall parliamentarians at any time. Five year free ride of elected members is making voters powerless. Also apart from new laws to combat corruption, education both formal and informal has a central role in curbing it. Why is it that our education system fails to address this fundamental issue ?
I am sure that figure shown in this article are tip of iceberg.our politician are growing faster then any economy in the world.when a country like us bearing the anguish of inflation,corruption, terrorism,these people are sucking this country like leeches.
Made me sick reading this article,even though everyone of us know the truth.....alas! can we not do anything except feeling sick!!!!!!!
Ps let us know whether they have filed their income tax returns and what is the amount of income tax they have paid on their increase in wealth which obviously is from their earnings during the period.
A very well written analysis. While I hold no brief for the worthies, to be fair to them, I feel that the increase in wealth should be split into two, viz. (1) increase in wealth attributable to increase in the market value of the properties and (2) increase attributable to income earned. Further, in the case of Sri Jaganmohan Reddy, bulk of the increase in wealth may be on account of the wealth inherited by him on the death of his father.
Very poor article. You can't jump to conclusions based on just the wealth reports. If money matters were so simple you wouldn't need to study years to become financial experts! But then you don't need Certification to judge financial matters in a newspaper article. Especially if it involves ministers. Everything is passe! How low can we take our journalism to?
Who is going to stop this plunder,when and how? With this sort of wealth circulating within a group of privileged few, why should more than half the population wallow in poverty ? Are we not sitting on the top of a volcano ready to erupt any time?
Good Score Board on ball to ball commentary by Sainath. Captain still says i am honest.In this People versus parliamentarians and MLAs the loser remains India and its majority people. How long shall Netas keep winning with hidden support of selected Corporate ?
the theory is simple.. its d matter of lottery and luck. the politician is investing millions in election fray because, if he wins he can make many folds of the investment. finally, the people and citizens have been made as a scapegoat. unless the people and voters wont understand and awake., nothing can be done. that is why, if independents were given a chance, v can make a tab on him as he will not be having much power like the big party's legislators as they enjoy power from central or state government.
excellent article.Law of conservation of money-Politicians getting richer and aam aadmi getting poorer in India. Hope things will change.
Its great article by Hindu, I really appreciate the effort of editor and its team. Now one can easily think; why these politician don't want to include parliamentary affairs into the Lokpal bill, this is the only reason the charm of politician will go off. we should hammer them by raising our concern over their earning. Planning commission has gone mad by saying that a sum of Rs 20 is enough for being in rich list and they forget the other side of MPs.
Great article! An eye-opener for every Indian. These ministers are unsatisfied even by gathering crores of rupees and they expect common man should be satisfied with just Rs 25/day. Shame on you...
Yes, there are other factors involved (value of land/house would have gone up, dividents, the businesses they own, etc.) But, even there, if one were to dig deep enough, people will find dishonest practices. Jagan is a billionaire merely by his business acumen/skills? Once a poor, Karunanidhi is a crorepathi now. Can anyone say that it is entirely legitimate? I wish it is. And if so, only want him (and Marans and others) to teach those skills to common man. We would be eternally indebted to them.
As ever,another brilliant,crisp and inescapably honest analysis of Sainath!Seems like our 'representatives'have tremendous faith in the perverse multiplication logic of oncocells(before you count the zeroes that honour their monetary might ,countless zeroes bloom!).The incredibly vulgar comedy being the inverse rationale of 'representation'.May be our ossified political jargon of representative democracy demands a semantic revolution(so that there will be at least a feeble element of familiarity between the real and intended!).Or as usual,we can escape to our routine apathy after skilfully buttressing ubiquituous, essentialist fangs of a corrupt political class(a situation reminding Pedro Paramo's Comala-a village of the dead).Or may be it is still not unfashionable to pose for a while, giving it a serious thought ,hoping against hope.
The Poverty of India can be alleviated if we confiscate all the accumulated Black Money Account stashed in swiss banks ..... else we will all be witnessing another FRENCH REVOLUTION in INDIA soon.
Cabinet ministers are not representing their constituencies but they are representative of market forces. Politicians are deriving this benefit by giving favours to corporate and MNCs at the cost of poor people.There is a need to reject these politicians by electorates because ultimately electorates are only people who can bring this process to a halt.
Nice article. Waiting for the statistics. Fish rots from the head down.
In my opinion there should be inheritance tax where govt takes 60% from individual total wealth inc property/shares/investment etc after death without any loop holes. which will not be bad .This will help Govt to redistribute wealth to poor or under-priviledged in their education /health etc.IS THERE ANY POINT GETTING THAT RICH ? only they will make their family member to spoil the wealth or misuse it in the future. A Country like India where distribution of wealth is uneven requires very progressive thinking. what is the point of driving BMW or Rolls Or FERRARI where there lots of pot holes.BULLOCK CART IS GOOD ENOUGH.
They make so much officially. Unofficially it is much more. Plus the perks of being an MP which is subsidized travel, food etc but CEO's salary.How come they come and sermonize students and citizens to be honest, pay taxes and yet they don't even pay toll charges. Why not EPFO seek the advice of these rich representatives to invest and grow our EPF money?
BREAKING NEWS ! Bowing to the sentiments of the Aam Aadmi, Govt has decided to refix the limit for BPL at Rs. 50 per day. After all, more the outflow more the revenue to the intermediaries !(anyway the money does not/will not reach the real BPLs ) And the next declaration of assets - 2014 elections ? - will show the impact ( of "social" growth)!
There is a connection between 'power' and 'plush',no doubt about that.But somehow I feel Sainath NEVER brings ALL THE POINTS HOME.He has made a specious argument just relying on slander and one sided perspective.Most of the ministers have their pockets loaded with cash at the very outset;this is how they reach there.They have big businesses,big mansions,family run organizations etc.I would have appreciated if the author had researched on all these factors.He could have looked in their backgrounds,current side business portfolios,profits made,return on investments etc...It would have made more sense to accuse them with sound facts and precise details.Even law gives criminals a hearing,and look at the complete picture.
This is written more for sensationalizing the phenomenon of corruption among politician/ministers playing to the gallery. If the checkpoint is taken in the last two years even without doing anything the wealth would have gone up even in the case of aam admi. . Take an example of ordinary middle class retired person. . This person had a house property in Chennai acquired (1954)at a cost of Rs 2,50,,000 and declares a wealth of Rs 2.5 Lakhs in his return for Year 2009. In 2011 the property is sold for Rs.2,50,00,000 and invests in a new property after paying Capital Gains Tax valued at Rs2 Crores. Can you say his wealth went up by about Rs 50 Lakhs per year. The accounting of wealth in terms of Rupees and Paise , as even a greenhorn CA will tell you is different for different purposes. For a better appreciation of the sums involved I would request Mr Sainath to publish along side tax free dividends earned by the owners of private limited companies (the HindU)in the last two years.
Another masterpiece from Sainath sir.Its a shame that amidst the galloping inflation and receding economy the ministers are making fortunes.Not only our M.PS and MLAs doing this but the govt officers following the suit.As they say leaders lead by example,unfortunately wrong examples are being set .
Thanks to journalists like Sainath who mince no words in laying out the truth the way it is, we wouldn't have known much about these "demons" of democracy. Its sad that we voted them to parliament to be bonafide representatives of we the people and irrespective of party or idealogy, they have become a fraternity of thieves.
The Planning commission is the bastion of fossils and a relic of Nehruvian socialism. High time the fossils are retired to the museums and the planning commission shut down.
My frustration is getting worse as i go through each paragraph of this article.I wonder how much time they might be spending at their offices,the count of weekends they've spent at office,how many night shifts they've done and how eagerly they might be waiting for their monthly salaries.I conclude from the article that "if you grow worser morally,you will get better monetarily".
Great article.Ordinary people are earning money in rupees per day but ministers are earning money in lakhs per day.what an idea followed by our ministers...........
Who is going to bell the cat. We all know that these politicians are systematically looting the state exchequer. All their wealth is ill-gotten. The law enforcing authorities know all the details of their growth right from the day they entered politics. Media from time to time brings out these facts then goes in to slumber. There is none to take it up as a watch and ward to keep constant watch on each and every activity of these corrupt men and women. Let us hope the Lokpal will keep the house clean in future. A new law should bar all those who claim to have business interests else where and are rich by one Crore or above. Common man at the leadership can do better governance.
Great Job Mr. Sainath! If the points you have raised are correct, i am surprised that there is law ...monitoring bodies..Like income tax department....so many, this huge eye popping growth is not visible to anyone. I think this 1092 times growth is so bright and intense that govt. is unable to decide from where it (money) is coming. It is all great drama…. All our business persons and Home minister should go and ask them how they are cultivating money. Even 1092 times growth in such a short time. It will be quite useful to us!
Rich parliamentarian rule 86% PBL people of india who survive on Rs. 20/day. what a democracy? Is it plutocracy or democracy? The answer may be complex but it is clear that elected people purse is going thicker and thicker day by day.
About a week after the Reddys got picked up for their (allegedly!) nefarious activities, a news story "broke" on TV. A truck was seized near Bellary for carrying 300kg of gold and a huge pile of cash (amounting to 100s of crores of rupees, of course; we don't talk any less than that nowadays). "Truck driver and cleaner arrested", was the exact line on the ticker tape. It was hysterical! This is exactly the state of our wonderful nation today. The powers-that-be stash millions of rupees from the public exchequer, the small fry get picked up for asking for a bribe of Rs 1000. We, the people, feel righteous at that justice that was meted out to the "corrupt".
Excellent article... It is not just politicians who have become billionaires...generally, the rich continue to become richer in the last two decades or so...but the poor continue to be poorer...
We all know that we are being fleeced by these politicians in a planned and systematic way since ages. Every party leadership selects these stalwarts as their candidates before the elections as their representatives on this very merit itself. The courts know this, as a black-mail instrument the CBI keeps a dossier on all these politicians for political use by the ruling party. What does that mean? The corrupt practices are done in open and is encouraged by the very government we elect with the permission of the government for these government (so called) servants. We need stringent laws to put a check to all this nonsense.
A real eye-opener. Well researched article Mr. Sainath. I have always expected gem like this from you.
Mr. Sainath has made a painstaking analysis. Now what ? Does this help our Nation in any way ? Should not this be taken forward, either to the CVC or to the Parliament or may be a PIL, asking the ministers to furnish details as to how they earned such astronomical figures after they took office ?? Otherwise the ministers will be laughing their heads off at Mr. Sainath and The Hindu, and the whole issue would become another jaw-grinding murukku to be ground, swallowed with some water and digested !
" A kindly account making the rounds in his home state is that Pawarsaheb was slightly confused over whether the declaration called for revealing his total asset worth or a statement of monthly income." Pawarsaheb literally seems to be confused. How can we bring these corrupt politicians into account, there is a need to penalize them but how? There is a need for a new wave, there is need for clean politics; the current political parties do-not serve the purpose. I pledge atleast not to vote for UPA GOVT.
836 million living on Rs 20 or less a day, does the Hindu understand what a million means. So what happens to the 18 crore civil servants and another 31 crore private sector employees. And in Hindus count our population should be 200 crores, oh but on 1st April it said Indias population was 121 crores.
The article strikes at the very root of the problem facing our country.Politicians becoming affluent overnight and poor people left to starve is disturbingly the sorry state of affairs in this country.And this is not a new trend, but has been passed down as a legacy by our highly revered ministers post independence and emanates from the nehru family for sure.And utterly despicable is the declaration of assets made by these ministers making a mockery of the whole motive behind the move.
Excellent Article, opening the eyes of the people - how the politicians are richer day by day! Who is monitoring the growth of the assets of the politicians. What is the source of the money.. How much is the tax paid to the Government..On the other hand over 70% of the Indians - over 836 Millions are living with less than Rs 20 per day! What is the PLAN OF ACTIONS OF THE GOVT to support these poor Indians.. Indeed only corporate and politicians of indians are richer by richer... certain middle class poeple become a millionnaire.. thanks to the boom on the IT sector. Unfortunately leftist also proved to be a failure in uplifting the poors. Only hope now is Anna Hazare to start a Political party, with a clear vision to reduce the gap between the rich and poor to face the next election in 2014!
Brilliant exposition of the rot Sainath and thank you. I wish I had the capacity to get it published in every paper, especially vernacular.It is not Newton's law at work, not trickle down, but torrential flow upwards. Reminds me of French Revolution after the callous remark of the overfed: let them eat cake if they have no bread. The sleeping giant, the illiterate masses, must rise as one man or made to rise by an Hazare and revolt, I pray short of using the guillotine.
Yet another flick from P.Sainath. I was expecting this article since post-Anna movement. The revelations of the sums of the assets that every minister owns to their seat irrespective they are part of PM's team or not, were consistent in 'serving' the people by filling at least few millions to their pockets on daily basis. Recently "The Great Wall of India" adieu-ed the ODI's,well known for his consistent performance and 'true serving' to the country even at the bad times. These ministers are also no less consistent performers,in terms of building their corrupt empire. One has to wait and see till 2014 polls who will remain as a top performer in tuning public wealth to their benefits.
I always thought the top politicians are well educated, diligent, honest to nation. Atleast the lok sabha MPs are. They were trying their best to hold corruption but could'nt help, if they catch hold of the people at the bottom of the pyramid, the pyramid will fall and so would they. But after reading about such reports it seems as if they are the ones who are actually leveraging the pyramid of corruption from the bottom. It's sad.. to be a part of such system and without being able to help.
"Planning Commission filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court defending a per capita expenditure of Rs.20 a day as a viable cut-off line for determining poverty in urban India. For rural India that was just Rs.15. They say they might give the Rs.20 figure a generous upgrade — all the way to Rs.25"
This is fun -- though comical-tragedy type. Credit for this must also go to Mr.Montek Singh Ahluwalia or else it will be unfair. India is Shining like never before -- a product of shamelessness of the corporate culture of the Government which decries public spending and also now denies that poor people even exist.
The author has made a deep study in arriving at the conclusion that our elected representatives owe an answer to the public at large on the wealth they created while they were in power. The sarcasm coupled with cricketing analogy and the metaphorically discussed substance needs to be commended.
The fact that our politicians make crores of rupees during their stay in the office does not surprise anyone I suppose, but the figures of their daily income given here have come as a rude awakening to me. It seems that these unscrupulous so called people's representatives are in a robbing spree, amassing billions of rupees for themselves at the cost of poor Indians living in diabolical poverty. It would be great if The Hindu now follows up this excellent article with another one exposing these MPs source of income and income tax returns.
Though this news plays to popular crowd one person, from a level of unbiased opinion, needs to be added to this article is Defence Minister Antony. Though he heads one of most "potential" ministry his asset has increased more or less in step with his salary. There is hope in this democracy and hope we elect only these real public servants.
The most telling comment, in my opinion, from among all the above-mentioned writers is that of Mr. Nagasubramanian. He has echoed (in Tamil words written in English) the feelings of most of us!
Each of the worthies must be cumulsorily made to declare how the assets multiplied when they are holding office. What is the reason behind this magic ? Also what is the basis of assets of the Prime Minister ? Why the assets of Sm. Sonia Gandhi has not been revealed who is also Chairperson of UPA &Congress President ? I hope these issues will be discussed and analysed further.
"Right to reject" and "right to recall" are a must for cleaning this system. I wanted so much the 'right to reject' during last elections. Now I wish for 'right to recall'.
As many politicians and their friends in the opinion making fraternity have said, Jan Lokpal cannot stop corruption. It is today on such a colossal scale, as could be surmised from the growth rate of wealth of those in power recorded above by the redoubtable P.Sainath, that it would perhaps need a new avatar of God Almihty to descend to earth to fight and defeat the rakshasa of corruption! May be the opinion makers who have been singing hosanas to India's great economic growth and we, the electors, who cast our votes without due deliberation are responsible for this state of affairs. As we sow, so we reap!
Just putting up of property details on PMO website is not enough. Pertinent questions must be asked to likes of Jagathrakshakan, how do they manage to multiply their wealth by 1000% in 2 years? Plz let the public know too about such brilliant instruments of investment. Larger issue is who will ask these questions - the PM? the supreme court? The media? or we will wait for another messiah to help us!!
Excellent article and congratulations to The Hindu. But such revelations seldom going to affect the ‘business’ of the people at the top level. And, we common man will only be awestruck and perplexed for a minute or two, be sad for some time at the image of our leaders and our own situation. Finally, we will forget it as usual and move on......
i like this one "Pawarsaheb was slightly confused over whether the declaration called for revealing his total asset worth or a statement of monthly income."
It is an eye-opener. I always knew (because everyone knows?) that these Ministers make a lot of money. But I had no idea it is this much. I used to be proud of my country for having such enormous growth rate. But I am so ashamed of my country's ministers. It's a crying shame!
Excellent Article but for the Leftist Rant and mudslinging. It is indeed expected that in a system of crony socialism (not crony capitalism) where only the influential and people close to the establishment gets the required licenses to do businesses (2G scam) and leaves out budding and inspirations enterprenuers like Narayan Murthy or the teeming small businessmen who wants to compete and offer better services. I wish for a change in Mr. Sainath writings(I dont know if he is capable of) something about our notorious bureaucracy which installs high walls of permits and quotas that it becomes virtually impossible for any honest businessmen to start a business.India is among least business friendly countries in the world and pakistan scores better here. Rather than crying on the symptons (rich politicos,dishonest businessmen),Sainath should write about how to reform the system and I did not get why he objected to Anna's campaign in this regard. May be he is good only at targeting symptoms
Another excellent piece of well researched facts and comprehensive analysis done by P. Sainath.I assume that they can only amass so much of wealth while serving in office by only one way:Corruption,no further explanation needed.Mind another observation,these facts are told by our ministers themselves.So imagine the other way around when their wealth can be much more than declared.By observing these huge numbers,one should not be surprised why there are so much poor people in our country and no body know till when their bad fate will continue because of corrupt politicians.
I am not able to understand whats is the problem in not giving the more cleardetails of the earnings of the union cabinet ministers except the hinderance created by them only. After all, they are most proctected citizens of the country and doing most noble job.
i cant understand how sharad pawar doesnt own a car!!! he has to be the richest man in india - lets start a donation drive to gift him a nano
Sainath's famed brand of sarcasm spot on as usual. The Naidu episode was hilarious. But, I'm a bit sceptical about the solution. How exactly does one audit the Cabinet ? And will a LokPal be of any use here ? The time is now ripe for the emergence of newer younger political parties
Poverty leads to unemployment,,unemployment leads to ''malnourishment,,digital divide,,lack of literacy'' etc this again leads to poverty..."Money" leads to elections,,elections lead to ''victory'',victory leads to corruption and corruption leads to ''Money''. What a mock has been made of a democratic country,,is this our respect, shown to our ideals who led struggle to give an independent,secure INDIA for all,,but Alas,,now it is suitable country for few people..
Great Job Sainath Sir!. I have not read a piece which brings out so boldy the wealth accumlated (not earned) by our ministers both Union and State, not to forget the MoS's. You are absolutely correct, declaring the assets is only a small step in showing transparency but being public servants they must go one step further and declare the full details of their wealth and ensure their integrity is maintained. The most important thing in public service is not how much money you make but how honest you are.
It is an eye opener article for each and every individual of this country (atleast to the readers of the hindu). Greedy politicians are increasing multifold, Without even thinking whose wealth they are eyeing on, they freely amass it and who are responsible for letting them acquire this wealth? Well i would say we the common people are responsible for this in the next election all these politicians must be taught a lesson about how it feels when u live a lavish life with public's money and how a common suffers because of your inhuman activities.
Our system makes rich richer and poor poorer. Politicians show tremendous growth in their assets. Poor end up with Rs. 20 or less. That is why there is scramble for to be MLA or MP. Can Anna Hazare's satyagraha and agreement in principle to pass a Janlokpal Bill very soon can control this unscrupulous scramble for power. Or will it end up as a frankenstein.
Again shows how our Parliamentary democracy has been totally subverted by greed and corruption. As Winston Churchill had said, "power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low caliber and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts..." Since these are the people who we elect after much song and dance, are they not just reflecting aspirations of the voters? Like the author says, an explanation is due from our reps. on how they have made so much wealth by serving the public in such a short time. We can safely assume that most of them are not even revealing the real extent of their loot. Obviously this explanation will never come. What choice do Indian people have in this regard? Another fast by Anna Hazare? Or another case in the Supreme Court? Or should we join the Naxals in uprooting the system or the terrorists in creating anarchy?
Excellent article. may be u should write more on reforms tht shd be done so tht they declare their wealth and pay taxes
The fact that over three fourth of the ministers in the present union cabinet are crorepatis and some of them have made half a million per day explains the growing public cynicism against ruling political class.Days have gone in which people entering politics perceived it as a potent instrument to bring about a desirable socio-economic and political transformation in the country.But today politics is all about amassing wealth through all dubious means. Misuse of discretionary powers by our ministers to fill up their coffers cannot be underestimated.It is a matter of grave concern that while worth of assets of our ministers and those in power keep increasing by day, there are millions of Indians struggling to sustain their survival with their poor income.
I wonder what stops our supreme judiciary to order investigation and prosecution against such open crime. Do the MPs and MLAs think that just declaring their assets gives them a license to loot more. By simple math of going through the salaries they earn, it doesn't need too much intelligence to understand their 'undeclared other incomes'. Are we waiting for the civilians to get on to the streets to wage a war against the system and may be that is the only way left to clean it.
We have lessons to learn from the civilian unrest against government inefficiency in different parts of the world. The legislators should not continue to play with the hopes of the countrymen.
Abinash.
It would have been funny if it were not so tragic. As usual Sainath has exposed the system. But how many will listen?
Before 1947 the unscrpulous Britisher is said to have swindled and stacked abroad crores of crores of our wealth. Now we are satsified that it is our own people who swindle us shamelessly with the khadi for cover in some cases. After all charity begins at home. Satyameva jayate.
A fantastic read!!!! Simple, straight forward and humorous. It is indeed time that politicians' tax details are made public.
These are official figures which are there in front of public. In actual, their assets are many times these figures.Politicians' decadent moral standards and ambivalent attitude towards the poor are two reasons for this exponential growth in their assets. I am sorry to say that I cannot expect better things from our politicians. Mind it, this is not cynical statement. Thanks Sainath, for such a good article.
Apart from the subject at hand about how the unfed are feeding the overfed, I cannot help but reflect on the sheer difference the pages of The Hindu holds out its readers every morning.
Of the three newspapers I read in print, the two financial papers and a smattering of web based media, it is only The Hindu which would spend space to bring out such an essay. This while the others are busy celebrating the successes of the overfed.As for Sainath, while we all know how he is a most celebrated journalist and analyst since long, one cannot but be enthralled at discovering and re-discovering his crisp, straight and honest narratives over and over again.
As usual a brave, incisive and well written article with good breadth of information. However, don’t you think Mr. Chandrababu Naidu has point? Can I say my house, where I am staying (living) for the past 27 years is worth one crore of rupees with any meaning of wealth? Which I acquired for a mere Rs.35000/- plus installments! Where will I go and stay if I dispose it off! (I do not deny that it is potential wealth) Cost of acquisition is very much important. Speculation has inflated the price of many assets we hold. But for most, most of the time it is only paper money. The case of many a ministers may be some what similar. While highlighting the excessive wealth of so many in power, don’t you think you should have opened a window to the other side as well. Why didn’t you mention A K Antony!
Why do these worthies need any salary and perks, the hikes that are passed with rare unanimity and with out any discussion? Many of these 'poor' politicians do not even have a car, a proud possession of our middle class. It is not surprising that increase in petrol prices does not hurt the political class or the oil company officials with unlimited 'quota' for official and personal use!
Let our planning commission members live with Rupees 25 per dayfor 15 days and then resubmit the affidavit.
Well described and analysed. Need for thorough investigation.
Our Ministers know that the public are weak in Mathematics. Entering politics today is a business proposition.Our politicians do not represent the people but represent their cleverness in making money by all means. If the declared income is so high, what about the undeclared income lying overseas ? The RBI may raise rates every few months but the rate of inflation will not come down as the black money in the economy fills the space made vacant by the new RBI rates. I wish Mr.Sainath writes in more detail about this phenomena in Indian economics. It may open Mr.Subba Rao's eyes.
This reminds the Physics second law of Thermodynamics. " It is impossible to draw a continuous supply of energy by cooling the body below its surroundings".
Rich become more richer where as poor is already poor and the Government or Politicians cannot make them further poorer.God only should save the situation and should come for helping the poorer section.As long as the country has illiterate mass vote banks, there won't be improvement. There should be age restrictions for Politicians also and no politicians family members should be given father-son rules in active politics. For Governor appointment, there should be age restriction and election defeated politicians or party affiliated person should not be appointed as Governors. This only will save Indian Democracy.
More than the declaration of assets and the meteoric rise in the assets of those who have been chosen to lead us, it would be interesting to know the methods adopted to amass such assets in such a short period. May be there is a lesson for the common man to emulate such success by fighting future elections successfully.
An eye opening article for all those people who queue up on election day and press a button on the EVM, doing "inky pinky ponky" without any application of their mind. Let the almighty Save India from the clutches of corruption ! Should we still call ourselves a democratic country. Shame on all those politicians who do nothing but daylight robbery in the name of governance.
An excellent article! The underlying malaise for this state of affairs, as in the U.S, is that governments act as enablers of business, premised on the half-truth that better economy makes for better life for their countrymen. The rulers' wealth is just a by-product of this unholy collusion. Certainly businesses can take care of themselves, without governments' help. All they need is consistent and constant governmental regulation or over-sight, lest they destroy themselves and the society that grows to be dependent on their products/services, fueled by unfettered greed. Agreed, the 'clever rats' at the top can and will make money whether they enable or hinder businesses with regulation. It makes us, the 'impatient youngsters', much more hopeless, when we realize that there is no short-cuts to getting morally upright leaders, except to rear them right from the nursery school.
Most abhorring disclosures on the ‘dirty rich’ politicians ever made, that make ordinary citizens' blood boil. This trend reminds me of the Darwinian theory of adaptation; that this species of ministers and career politicians given the extended exposure to the congenial environment of power, resources and opportunities to swindle, have adapted to lavish themselves without any sense of shame or consciousness, bending rules and regulations or principles and procedures systematically to suit their designs. This they did with impunity as the dependent species of ‘babus’ in the government were given opportunities to share the spoils. Unless such ‘mutated species’ of men are cleansed off the system, there is no way Indian politics and politicians can become credible. Such continuous and intense exposures of these ‘mutated’ individuals need to be stepped up to work on the mind sets of voters to weed them out in elections like extremely potent antibiotics acting on infected organic systems.
Ennathai solla. Idhai vida kodumai indha ulagathil kidayathu. Indha naadu enge pogirathu. Idharku ellam mudivu kidayatha. Jananayagathai vida, oru hitler vandhu ivargalai ellam gas chamberil pottal than, indharku vimotcham undu.
In simple words Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy adds 58 rupees every second, 3,480 rupees every minute, 2,088,00 every hour and 50 lakhs every 24 hours. And the same government tells to poor that "Rs25.00 are enough for you per day".
Even though there are good ideas here, this article is deeply flawed. Declaration of taxes and audit of the source of income are good suggestions; unfortunately they are lost in the mud sliging and hyperbole that Sainath is so good at. For instance, Sainath criticizes Mr Praful Patel because his wealth increased considerably; but then skewers Mr Sharad Pawar and Chandrababu Naidu even if their wealth didn't increase. Even more interestingly, Mayawati whose assets have shown some of the largest increase is left out. It would appear that there is political gamesmanship at work in the selection of Sainath's targets.
A few months back the Supreme Court of India asked "what the hell is going on in this country?" in connection with the black money of Indians in Swiss banks. I can only join the Supreme Court and exclaim in awestricken despair, the same question!
Hi, Almost all the ministers/leaders discussed in your article are from Congress, and the remaining 1 or 2 from UPA. Given that, how can you generalize and club "Congress, BJP" minsiters and say they have risen in wealth. I have often noticed that whenever a negative issue is being discussed, the print media seems to "spread the blame" to BJP as well, whereas, anything mildly positive is atrributed to the "strong hand of Congress leader X", "firm resolution by Dr. Singh" etc. I hope this trend stops..Thanks..
I think, overall the matter was a little too quick to make the blame. We need to look up details whether some investments which pay dividents have been the cause of the increase in assets. Such cases cannot be seen in a negative light. You could also mention the clean-sheet ministers such as A.K. Anthony who have not made a fortune while in office.
Congratulations to the Hindu for spearheading a movement to epose the shenanigans of our politicians of all hues and their penchant for amassing wealth obviously illegally while "serving" the poor. But how to control the menace and recover this illgotten wealth is not indicated.
Excellent analytical report by Sainath and thank Hindu for publishing.The batting average even outclasses great master blaster Tendulker.I dont know how Mr Manmohan singh the most honest man in India tolerating all this vast corruption under his umbrella as average 50% indians subsist on Rs 60/day as per wsj article.Long live anna Hazare.
Finally it came...i was waiting for this article...i was waiting why still no newspaper has commented on millions...no..billions made by our politicians. Its another proof that corruption starts at the top. what do you expect from a govt officer who see his minister making 5 million a day? He ought to make at least 5000 a day. and as its well known but not officially accepted, this 5000 per day by petty officials has some share of their bosses and this hierarchy goes till top. This is perfect example of reverse trickle down theory. Actually there is nothing new in it. Anyone who has read history can tell that that's how our kings were so rich and subjects poor. it's just notional change from monarchy to democracy. But we are also so used to of it. we won't to anything about it..as usual!
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