07-13-2007, 10:23 PM
Shekhawat declares his assets
Friday, July 13, 2007 (New Delhi) PTI
The NDA-backed presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Friday made a public declaration of his assets and liabilities, which showed that he holds a bank balance of Rs 25.60 lakh and Rs one lakh in cash.
But his wife Suraj Kanwar is richer, with Rs 25.86 lakh in fixed deposits, Rs 1.25 lakh in cash and Rs 5,849 in a savings bank account.
Shekhawat, contesting against UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil, owns jewellery worth Rs one lakh while his wife's gold ornaments amount to Rs 5.25 lakh and silver utensils are worth Rs 3.90 lakh.
Kanwar owns an Ambassador car of 1980 make while her husband has an army-disposed vehicle registered in his name.
Shekhawat owns less than one hectare of land, that too ancestral, in a Sikar district village of Rajasthan, but his wife has 6.28 hectares in a Jaipur district village.
The declaration, which the vice-president made on his own showed that Shekhawat has got a 1/16th share in an ancestral house in Khachariawas village in Rajasthan.
His wife, however, owns a 1,000-sq yard plot in Jaipur, whose present value is estimated at Rs 1.54 crore.
There is another 650-sq yard plot, worth Rs 55 lakh, in Jaipur, which has been put in a disputed claim category in her name.
Cases are pending in Rajasthan courts over 22.8 bhigas listed in Kanwar's disputed claims column in the declaration.
Both husband and wife owe no dues to banks or to any government department.
Not legally binding
Shekhawat has become the first ever presidential candidate to declare his assets though it's not legally binding.
''We have declared assets to maintain probity and transparency in public life. We have not asked them or demanded anything from them,'' said Sushma Swaraj, NDA Spokesperson.
Pratibha Patil has also compiled her list of assets and the UPA is now deciding when to make it public. Offically though they say the exercise is a farce.
''With Shekawat taking the lead in declaring his assets, the big question now is whether the government will decide to amend the law and make it mandatory in future for presidential and vice presidential aspirants to declare their assets,'' said Abhishek M Singhvi, Congress Spokesperson.
Shekhawat decided to reveal his assets after LK Advani demanded that presidential candidates must declare their assets to the Election Commission, just like other candidates do when they contest elections. But It seems NDA's real aim is to get Pratibha Patil to declare her assets.
Friday, July 13, 2007 (New Delhi) PTI
The NDA-backed presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Friday made a public declaration of his assets and liabilities, which showed that he holds a bank balance of Rs 25.60 lakh and Rs one lakh in cash.
But his wife Suraj Kanwar is richer, with Rs 25.86 lakh in fixed deposits, Rs 1.25 lakh in cash and Rs 5,849 in a savings bank account.
Shekhawat, contesting against UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil, owns jewellery worth Rs one lakh while his wife's gold ornaments amount to Rs 5.25 lakh and silver utensils are worth Rs 3.90 lakh.
Kanwar owns an Ambassador car of 1980 make while her husband has an army-disposed vehicle registered in his name.
Shekhawat owns less than one hectare of land, that too ancestral, in a Sikar district village of Rajasthan, but his wife has 6.28 hectares in a Jaipur district village.
The declaration, which the vice-president made on his own showed that Shekhawat has got a 1/16th share in an ancestral house in Khachariawas village in Rajasthan.
His wife, however, owns a 1,000-sq yard plot in Jaipur, whose present value is estimated at Rs 1.54 crore.
There is another 650-sq yard plot, worth Rs 55 lakh, in Jaipur, which has been put in a disputed claim category in her name.
Cases are pending in Rajasthan courts over 22.8 bhigas listed in Kanwar's disputed claims column in the declaration.
Both husband and wife owe no dues to banks or to any government department.
Not legally binding
Shekhawat has become the first ever presidential candidate to declare his assets though it's not legally binding.
''We have declared assets to maintain probity and transparency in public life. We have not asked them or demanded anything from them,'' said Sushma Swaraj, NDA Spokesperson.
Pratibha Patil has also compiled her list of assets and the UPA is now deciding when to make it public. Offically though they say the exercise is a farce.
''With Shekawat taking the lead in declaring his assets, the big question now is whether the government will decide to amend the law and make it mandatory in future for presidential and vice presidential aspirants to declare their assets,'' said Abhishek M Singhvi, Congress Spokesperson.
Shekhawat decided to reveal his assets after LK Advani demanded that presidential candidates must declare their assets to the Election Commission, just like other candidates do when they contest elections. But It seems NDA's real aim is to get Pratibha Patil to declare her assets.