Times
of India: Mumbai: Thursday, 26 March 2015.
While good
governance was the plank on which the BJP government was voted to power in the
state state ministers are yet to declare their assets and liabilities, shows a
Right to Information query filed by activist Anil Galgali.
While the
information on assets and liabilities for each candidate who contested Vidhan
Sabha elections is available on the website of the Election Commission, Galgali
points out that, post elections, it is mandatory for ministers to declare them
once again as they are now elected representatives. "This is the procedure
followed by the Central government. Even the Prime Minister's assets and
liabilities are available online," says Galgali, who rues the fact that,
over 100 days after the BJP formed a government in Maharashtra; its ministers
are still to publicly declare their wealth.
"The CM
must declare his assets and liabilities to the governor and accordingly all the
ministers of the cabinet and ministers of state have to declare the same to the
CM," he adds.
In response
to an RTI query seeking information on the assets and liabilities of both
cabinet ministers as well as ministers of state, Galgali received a letter from
the under-secretary of the General Administration Department, Mantralaya,
stating that the information requested was unavailable.
"I have
written to chief minister Devendra Fadanvis on two occasions demanding that
details of ministers' assets and liabilities be made available to the public
online," says Galgali.
He says he
pursued the previous Congress government over the same issue. "Only three
ministers in the earlier government revealed details of their wealth
online," he adds.
Galgali says
the BJP government's agenda had been transparency. "But now the government
has refrained from being transparent when it comes to its own ministers,"
he says.
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