By D N Singh
Mera Bharat Mahan: We are in a land where the politicians wear the tag of Sevaks (sevants) of people. Reading through the report below unmasks the reality that is worrisome.
And the fact is that, the word servants appears to be a razzmatazz as a term and severely out of place.
Amid a situation where poverty scares at a majority, some politicians of the country have in their possession assets which can match the annual budgets of three major NE states.
The total assets of 4,001 sitting MLAs are Rs 54,545 crore, which is more than the combined annual budget for 2023-24 of three states — Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim — totalling to Rs 49,103 crores, a report said on Tuesday.
According to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the National Election Watch (NEW), the total assets of 4,001 MLAs across the country is worth Rs 54,545 crore.
It said that the assets of the 4,001 MLAs across the country is more than the combined annual budget for 2023-24 of three states — Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim — totalling to Rs 49,103 crores.
It highlighted that the annual budget 2023-24 of Nagaland is Rs 23,086 crore, Mizoram is Rs 14,210 crore and Sikkim is Rs 11,807 crore.
The report was released after analysing the self-sworn affidavits of sitting MLAs in State Assemblies and Union Territories across the nation.
The data has been extracted from affidavits filed by the MLAs prior to contesting their last elections.
It said that a total of 4,001 MLAs out of 4,033 have been analysed across 28 State Assemblies and two Union Territories. This report covers 4001 sitting MLAs belonging to 84 political parties and Independent MLAs.
