No chief minister in Tamil Nadu has declared his/her assets for a long time. Even the handful of MLAs and ministers who had come up with such disclosures had ceased doing it since 1996 as the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on declaring assets by MLAs, ministers and the presiding officer made it voluntary.
The House had unanimously passed the resolution moved by then chief minister M. Karunanidhi on August 27, 1969, seeking declaration of assets by MLAs, including ministers and the Speaker. The Assembly also wanted the Centre “to bring forward legislation incorporating the content of this resolution”. Since no such legislation was brought forward, the declaration of assets remained voluntary and the resolution was conveniently forgotten.
But when it was first moved by the DMK chief minister, the resolution had pointed out that it was necessary for the people to get convinced that their representatives were holding offices only for the public good and not for their own benefit. “It is necessary in the public interest to avoid even the slightest degree of suspicion in the minds of the common people regarding the absolute integrity of the members”, the resolution had said.
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Reddys may bank on ‘Jagan model’
Shivakumar G. Malagi
Bellary, Sept. 4
The Reddy brothers may bank on the “Jagan model” to retain their clout in state politics despite being denied Cabinet berths.
This explains the decision of their close aide and former health minister B. Sriramulu to launch a Swabhimana Yatra from Monday, to explain to people the “injustice” meted out to him after he was indicted in the illegal mining scam.
Kadapa MP and son of former AP CM Y.S. Rajashekhar Reddy, Jagan Mohan Reddy, had launched the Odarpu Yatra in Andhra Pradesh soon after he developed differences with the Congress leadership, to prove he was still popular among the masses. The yatra resulted in the Congress expelling him for anti-party activity. Later, Jagan resigned from the Congress and floated his own regional party — the YSR Congress — to win the Lok Sabha election from Kadapa on his own party’s symbol.
The Reddy brothers and Mr Sriramulu are no longer in the good books of the central leadership nor do they enjoy the confidence of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, whom they once considered their godmother, and so they feel this is just the right time to emerge as leaders on their own.
Mr Sriramulu’s Yatra is likely to cover 110 Assembly constituencies from Bidar to Karwar in north Karnataka to explain to people “the injustice done to him by wrongly indicting him in the illegal mining scam”.
Sources in the BJP were, however, sceptical about the success of his tour considering that Mr Sriramulu — a Valmiki community strongman — does not enjoy much support in the southern districts, nor is he a popular leader like the late YSR or his son.