Naidu and family poorer

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Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu is poorer by Rs 7.91 lakh since last year, while the cumulative value of assets of his family have dropped by about Rs 4.4 crore.

Mr Naidu, who declares his assets in September every year to ensure transparency, said on Thursday that his personal assets stand at Rs 31.97 lakh and that there was no additional income over the previous financial year.

Naidu: I am transparent, Congress is malicious
Noting that the cumulative value of his assets dropped by Rs 7.91 lakh this year, Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu said that the drop in value was due to “internal adjustments”, parking of funds in other entities, loans etc. “We have declared acquisition cost as the market values differ from time to time. I had promised to declare assets annually and I am doing it to ensure transparency in politics. I am clean and my character is clean," he remarked.

His family assets have dropped with the total value — including the assets of his wife Bhuvaneshwari, son Lokesh and daughter-in-law Brahmani — standing at Rs 35.59 crore as on March 31, 2012, compared to about Rs 40 crore last year. The turnover of the family-owned Heritage Foods India Limited has gone up from Rs 1,096.08 crore in 2010-2011 to Rs 1,393.41 crore in 2011-12, earning a net profit of Rs 9.33 crore as against Rs 1.12 crore the previous year.

Mr Naidu hinted that Ms Brahmani would be joining the family business, presently overseen by his wife and son. Ms Bhuvane-shwari is the vice-chairperson and MD while Mr Lokesh is the executive director. “The decision to declare assets annually was taken by the TD and this has led to the Union government asking Cabinet ministers to declare their assets too,” Mr Naidu said.

Taking a broadside at the Congress for attacking him with a charge of amassing Rs 2,000 crore wealth from a two-acre piece of land, Mr Naidu said that the ruling party had launched a malicious campaign against him as it was unable to take him on politically or prove any wrongdoing during his 35-year political career. “Our undivided family owned 77 acres of land in 1986 while my wife Bhuvaneshwari paid wealth tax way back in 1975. The Congress campaign is malicious and aimed to tarnish my image. Let them be transparent like me,” the TD chief said.