How Rich Are Our Politicians?

Bangalore: Though the poverty levels have declined, there is a visible mark of inequality between the social classes. The symptoms of poverty preoccupy us while we stay alien towards the causes. Inspite of the successful Lok Pal movement led by Anna Hazare, our thick skinned politicians have lots more to learn. The Indian prime minister's office (PMO) has made a disclosure of wealth, money and asset details of the country's ministers through an online proceduere. But most of them have not done full disclosures and even if they have done, the values are understated to the extent of provoking a joke.

The updated figures of the members of the Union council of ministers show that the ministers are getting richer by the year. The list consisted of Prime Minister, 32 cabinet ministers, seven ministers of state with independent charge and 37 ministers of state. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee are yet to declare the worth of their assets.

The Union minister of chemicals and fertilizers, DMK’s MK Alagiri is worth over Rs 37 crore along with the assets of his wife, Kanthi. Alagiri owns a Range Rover worth Rs 35 lakh and a Honda City, while his wife possesses a BMW worth Rs 75 lakh. The couple have their worth leap by almost 17 percent from 2011.

Parliamentary affairs minister Rajeev Shukla recorded for a 76 percent increase in worth of his assets from last year. Shukla along with his wife were worth around Rs 16.56 crore last year but the present declaration shows they are worth nearly Rs 29.25 crore, as reported by yahoo.com.

Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, as per his latest declaration has no vehicle in his or his family’s name, though his total worth along with his wife’s has grown by 33 percent from last year to over Rs 16 crore. The Pawar couple has Rs 2.5 crore in fixed deposits in banks and own a flat in Dwarka Sector 3 in Delhi, which apparently is worth nearly Rs 1.15 crore.

Finance minister P. Chidambaram and his wife recorded for their worth, which has grown by nearly 26 percent to almost 30 crore this year, reported yahoo.com.

Herein lies the condition of India where politicians accumulate personal wealth without any kind of punitive measures.