Naidu is poorer this year, still has the same Amby

TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu is poorer this year last. That’s as as per his declaration of his and his family’s assets.

Naidu has assets worth just Rs 31.97 lakh in his name, but his family’s are worth Rs 35.59 crore. The TDP boss’s assets as of March 31, 2011 were worth Rs 39.88 lakh, which have dwindled to Rs 31.97 lakh by Mrch 31 this year.

He did not offer any explanation for the erosion of value. The difference since last year is largely to the depletion of Naidu’s bank balance, which came down from Rs 15.16 lakh last year to Rs 7.24 lakh this year.

According to Naidu’s declaration, he owns one car of value Rs 1.52 lakh and the house at Jubilee Hills whose acquisition value in 1992 was Rs 23.20 lakh.

Naidu’s wife Bhuvaneshwari, daughter of TDP founder N T Rama Rao, is much richer than him. Her net worth is Rs 24.57 crore. Son Lokesh has assets worth Rs 6.62 crore and daughter-in-law Brahmani Rs 2.09 crore.

“Even before my marriage in 1978, my wife was a wealth tax assessee and used to pay tax,” Naidu told reporters while releasing his wealth details on Thursday.

The TDP president adopted his policy of voluntary declaration of assets in September last hear. He said his example has encouraged several Union ministers to declare their assets too. Naidu said a wider debate is needed on ways of ridding India’s political system of black money.

“Why should we not make payments by cheque? Where is the need for a 500 rupee note?” he asked.

“At present, there is no audit of donations received by political parties and, as a result, the money is being diverted to personal use. In the first place, much of the money that comes to a political party in the form donations is not legal money. There is no audit of money that is stashed away in banks on benami names as a result of which the the owner of the money has easy access, evading the long arm of the law,’’ he said.