Candidates / Spouses /
Kids : Assets ?
-----------------------------------------------
Economic Times ( 17 Feb ) carries following news :
The Supreme Court on
Friday expressed alarm over the undue accretion of assets of law-makers, a sure sign that they were misusing
their offices, and made it obligatory for candidates to reveal the source of their incomes and that
of their spouses and dependent children, apart from their share or interest if
any in government contracts.
This, the court said, would go a long way in letting the electorate make an informed choice of the candidate. “In our opinion, such information would certainly be relevant and necessary for a voter to make an appropriate choice at the time of the election whether to vote or not in favour of a particular candidate.”
However, the bench
baulked at the prospect of setting up a permanent mechanism to keep tabs on and probe the assets
of law-makers and their immediate families, saying it may end up in a
“political witch-hunt”.
Unfortunately, in our
country, neither the Parliament nor the Election Commission of India paid any
attention to the problem so far,” the bench said.
The judges attributed the
sharp spike in non-performing assets and other such financial ills ailing the
Indian state to such misuse of office by legislators to humour their own in
bagging major government contracts.
Such undue accretion of assets was certainly a matter
which should alarm the citizens and voters of any truly democratic society, it
said, as it was a sure indicator of the beginning of a failing democracy.
“If left unattended, it
would inevitably lead to the destruction of democracy and pave the way for the rule of mafia.” “Democracies with higher levels
of energy have already taken note of the problem and addressed it.
Unfortunately, in our
country, neither the Parliament nor the Election Commission of India paid any
attention to the problem so far,” the bench said.
Legislators, the court said, are
deputed by the people to get grievances redressed. “But they become the
grievance.” The bench said that there was no reason why the election rules
should not be changed by the government to make such undue accumulation of assets an electoral
disqualification, besides a criminal offence.
“If assets of a legislator and his /
her associates ( wife, dependent children ) increase without bearing any
relationship to their known sources of income, the only logical inference that can be drawn is that
there is some abuse of the constitutional
office,” the court said.
The court said that the citizen, the
ultimate repository of sovereignty in a democracy, must have access to all
information that enables critical audit of the performance of the state, its
instrumentalities and their incumbent or aspiring public officials.
Dear Hon Supreme Court :
There is no need for
“ setting up a permanent mechanism
to keep tabs on and probe the
assets of law-makers and their immediate families “
All that is required is
to add one more field in the
Income Tax Form (
revised one introduced in 2016 ) , which says :
“ If either yourself or
any member of your near family ( spouse / children / son-in-law /
daughter-in-law ) have held any position in Parliament or State Legislature or
Municipal Corporation , at any time during past 5 years , provide full details
below :…………………. “
For
2016-17 assessment year, the tax department has unveiled new income tax return form
For
persons with income above Rs 50 lakhs, it requires submission of following
details ( with cost of each item ) :
*
All immovable assets ( such as land / buildings etc )
*
All movable assets ( such as Cash, Jewellery , Vehicles , Yachts etc )
*
All liabilities ( such as loans )
For
rest of the “ permanent mechanism “ and “ informed choice of the candidate “ , find
Solutions at :
Electoral
Reforms Through Backdoor ? [ 03 April 2016
]
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