BHOPAL: Twenty months after the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha unanimously resolved that each member of the House will furnish details of their and dependents’ assets/properties and liabilities annually, only 15 of the 227 MLAs have so far done that.
While Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is among the nine BJP MLAs who have furnished their assets details to the principal secretary of the Assembly, as required, his predecessor Kamal Nath does not figure among the six Congress legislators who have done that.
The other BJP MLAs to have furnished the details include Assembly Speaker Girish Gautam, health minister Dr Prabhuram Chaudhary and ex-minister Rampal Singh.
The Congress MLAs who have furnished the details include former parliamentary affairs minister Govind Singh and first-time MLAs Arif Masood and Sanjay Yadav.
Congress MLA PC Sharma blamed Covid-19 and lockdowns for non-submission of property details.
“Now that everything is opening up, the details will be submitted before the Vidhan Sabha in next two months,” Sharma said.
According to informed sources, the BJP members (the party was then in opposition) had suggested then that instead of passing a resolution, a legislation should be passed by the House for the purpose.
Some lawmakers, in fact, wanted a provision of jail term for those who failed to declare assets.
However, Vishvas Sarang, who is now the medical education minister, said on Wednesday, “There is no issue in it...The details are also given by all at the time of contesting polls.”
The 230-member MP Vidhan Sabha currently has 227 members fiollowing the death of three legislators.
Resolution required lawmakers to file details by June
The Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha had passed a unanimous resolution on December 18, 2019, which stipulated that every member of the House would furnish to the Assembly details of their and their dependents’ movable and immovable assets by June 30 annually.