M A I N   N E W S

Reveal assets, PM tells ministers
Our Political Correspondent

New Delhi, June 7
As the UPA government remains enmeshed in allegations of corruption, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent out a fresh reminder to his ministerial colleagues to declare their assets, liabilities and business interests along with those of their spouses and dependents. Drawing attention to this annual exercise, Cabinet secretary K.M.Chandrasekhar wrote to the ministers on June 2 : “I have been directed by the Prime Minister to apprise you of the declarations required to be made by a member of the Union Council of Ministers in accordance with the code of conduct for ministers.”

Details of these assets and liabilities are to be placed on the official website of the Prime Minister’s Office as part of the Prime Minister’s efforts to inject greater transparency into governance. The ministers have been asked to send in the details by August 31. The Cabinet Secretary’s letter pointed to the specific provisions in the six-page code of conduct, which is sent to them every year, which requires them to disclose not just assets and liabilities but also details of their business interests and the conduct and management of any other business. The code has no legal sanction but ministers are expected to follow it seriously.

After the 2G Spectrum scam and the Commonwealth Games fiasco, the ruling alliance is currently battling latest disclosures about Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran extending favours to a Malaysia-based telecom company as a quid pro quo for investments in his family-owned cable distribution network Sun TV. The code of conduct for ministers requires them to give details of their assets which include particulars of all immovable properties and the value of shares and debentures, cash holdings and jewellery.

The code also advises ministers to sever all connections but stops short of divesting them of the ownership, with the conduct and management of any business in which they had interests before their appointment as ministers.