New Delhi, Feb. 3: In a bid to clean up the system and bring about transparency in government, both at the Centre and in the states, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is learnt to have issued a fresh code of conduct for ministers at all levels.
Central ministers and those in the states have been advised to disclose details about their assets and liabilities and refrain from dealing with the government on immovable properties, sources said.
While issuing the code of conduct for ministers, the Prime Minister, in a letter to his colleagues in the Union Council of Ministers and chief ministers, has asked them to disclose details of their business interests, sever all connections and divest themselves of the ownership of companies which supply goods to the government before being appointed ministers.
The code does not have any legal backing, but, given the response from a few Union ministers, mostly from the Congress, there is some likelihood that the code might be adhered to.
The Prime Minister has also mooted the concept of an authority to ensure the code is observed. In the case of Union ministers, the Prime Minister will be the authority and in the case of chief ministers it would be the Prime Minister and Union ministers. In case of ministers in the states, it would be the responsibility of the chief ministers to ensure adherence.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and urban development minister S. Jaipal Reddy welcomed the decision. "It is normal practice. That is, whenever you give a statement of assets and liabilities annually, the statement has to be given to the PM and to the Speaker," Mr Mukherjee said.
"It’s a positive step towards cleaning up the system," Union law minister M. Veerappa Moily said, adding that he had already declared all his assets and liabilities to the PM. Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said, "It is a positive step and will bring transparency in the system."
Experts, however, felt the move would have no real impact on the prevailing situation as the code is impractical and irrelevant in the absence of any legal backing.
Age Correspondent