DEHRADUN: Aam Aadmi Party today demanded action against 60 Uttarakhand MLAs, including Chief Minister Harish Rawat and opposition leader Ajay Bhatt, for not declaring their assets as required by law.
A day ahead of Uttarakhand Assembly's budget session, AAP leader Anoop Nautiyal wrote to Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal, accusing 60 of 70 MLAs of not declaring their assets and demanded action against them.
"An RTI query reveals that 44 out of a total of 70 members of the current Assembly never declared their assets before the Speaker since their election in 2012 while 16 other legislators, including Chief Minister Harish Rawat, his predecessor Vijay Bahuguna and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ajay Bhatt, did not declare their assets in 2014-2015," Nautiyal said in the letter.
Contending that declaration of assets by MLAs within three months of their election to Assembly and then, on an yearly basis in June is mandatory as per Ministers and Legislators (Publication of Assets and Liabilities) Act 1975, Nautiyal said it was gross violation of Election Commission guidelines and demanded that membership of violating MLAs be terminated.
"It is unfortunate that it will probably be the last budget session of the state Assembly before it goes to polls again early next year and yet 44 out of 70 MLAs have still not declared their assets while 16 others including CM and his predecessor did not submit the document in 2014-2015.
"Membership of legislators who have not yet declared their assets must be terminated," AAP's Pradesh Working Committee president Nautiyal said.
Terming it as a gross violation of the Election Commission guidelines, Nautiyal had recently written to the EC asking it to hold an inquiry into the findings thrown up by an RTI query and act against all MLAs if found guilty.
Uttarakhand Assembly's budget session begins tomorrow.