Richest Politicians – The Top 10
*** Excerpts from “Richest politicians“ by Shankkar Aiyar ***
…Entering public life is now an investment of time and effort for dividends to be earned from political entrepreneurship. A joint study by INDIA TODAY and EmpoweringIndia.org (an initiative of the Liberty Institute) of the reported assets of our elected representatives reveals a startling contrast between the rulers and the ruled.
In a country where over 77 per cent of the populace, or an estimated 836 million people, earn an income of Rs 20 per day and over 300 million are living below the poverty line, nearly half the Rajya Sabha members and nearly a third of those from the Lok Sabha are worth a crore and more.
Just the top ten Rajya Sabha members and the top ten Lok Sabha members have reported a cumulative net asset worth Rs 1,500 crore. The 10 top losers in the last Lok Sabha polls—including Nyimthungo of Nagaland who reported total assets of Rs 9,005 crore —is Rs 9,329 crore. Members of legislative assemblies seem wealthier than many MPs.
…don’t look for a correlation between the state of the state and the wealth of the legislators. Uttar Pradesh boasts of the largest number of people—59 million or over a third of its population—living below the poverty line. Not only is Mayawati the richest chief minister in 30 states, the state also boasts of 113 crorepati MLAs.
…As the old maxim goes, power begets power and money attracts riches….Take the last round of Assembly elections which afforded the study an opportunity to compare the increase in wealth. In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where the BJP was in power, the average assets of (its) candidates increased by five times.
In Karnataka too where the Congress ruled in rotation with Deve Gowda’s JD(S), Congress candidates reported a fivefold rise in their assets.
*** End of Excerpts ***
Here are the Top 10:
1. T. Subbarami Reddy
Indian National Congress
Rajya Sabha, Andhra Pradesh
Total Assets: Rs 239.6 cr
2. Jaya Bachchan
Samajwadi Party
Rajya Sabha, Uttar Pradesh
Total Assets: Rs 214.3 cr
3. Rahul Bajaj
Independent
Rajya Sabha, Maharashtra
Total Assets: Rs 190. 6 cr
4. Anil H. Lad
Indian National Congress
Rajya Sabha, Karnataka
Total Assets: Rs 175 cr
5. M. Krishnappa
Indian National Congress
MLA, Vijay Nagar, Karnataka
Total Assets: Rs 136 cr
6. MAM Ramaswamy
Janata Dal (Secular)
Rajya Sabha, Karnataka
Total Assets Rs 107.7 cr
7. Anand Singh
BJP
MLA, Vijayanagara, Karnataka
Total Assets: Rs 239 cr
8. Anil V. Salgaocar
Independent
MLA, Sanvordem, Goa
Total Assets: Rs 91.4 cr
9. N.A. Haris
Indian National Congress
MLA, Shanti Nagar, Karnataka
Total Assets: Rs 85.3 cr
10. Mahendra Mohan
Samajwadi Party
Rajya Sabha, Uttar Pradesh
Total Assets: Rs 85 cr
Related Posts:
What’s stopping you from joining active politics? – II
Thanks for making this information public.
However we knew this already – that our hard earned money is being sucked.
Shows how these bastards are siphoning money from the system – except may be 1% who may have earned it hard, eg Rahul Bajaj.
Since the whole system is covered by corrupts – there is no one to take them to task. The entire govt. system machinery is a sham, a cover up – to keep public at bay and out of reach.
Same as Britishers did with us – now these Black Britishers are doing the same. We are still not independent… we have been fooled that we achieved independence.
NREGA got it wrong – all they had to do to alleviate poverty was to make every poor citizen an MLA or an MP. The facts certainly support that it is a surefire way to get rid of poverty and make people richer.
Yes, Yes! Last weekend I was at the library and a peek at India Today international going over these numbers. No wonder everyone other than those aspiring to become engineers, doctors, IAS/IPS want to become politician. To ‘serve’ themselves!
Vikram’s take “Same as Britishers did with us” triggred my thought. Few years back I read a wonderful column by Sri. Sankrant Sanu. He argued, I figured, since we inherited that exact system the nature of it ( meaning the ‘exploitation’ aspect ) is the issue more than Indians by nature being corrupt. Either way I guess over time both people and system has become corrupt.
This is the article I was talking about. Worth reading. Comments too.
http://sankrant.sulekha.com/blog/post/2004/03/are-indians-corrupt.htm
Surprised I would say. This I believe would only be the accounted income I guess. Are we to believe that only so much of money is taken from fellow brothers.
Where is all the unaccounted money? Don’t we remember any of the scams and the thousands of crores cordened off?
Regret to say this list is only a sample of the entire pie.
BTW
this ‘Same as Britishers….’ line is something oft repeated by Swami Ramdev. I listen him daily, so have started speaking almost same.
that reminds me…
Patanjali Yogpeeth’s 2nd phase is completing, and it will be inaugurated on 1,2 &3 April.
They have scheduled many programs on this occasion, over span of 3 days. These will be telecast live on Aastha channel.
This time they have also discussions and speeches on problems in these times. Eminent people journalists and industralists too will attend, and speak
This is a very good occasion to know Bharat Swabhiman
yes live on aastha 1st 2nd and 3rd
People like Shekhar Kapur, Mahest Bhatt, Munjaal of Hero Honda, Rahul Bajaj, and many more will be attending and speaking. There will also be a kavi sammelan on Rashtra Chetana.
I can’t believe I didn’t notice this post, though I wish there is a list of fastest wealth accumulators in politics.
Btw, MAM Ramasamy is also a genuinely rich person like Rahul Bajaj. He is born rich and a race course magnet.
Most of these people, Ms.Bacchan, Reddy, Bajaj, Salgaokar, Anand Singh and Ramaswamy at least were rich before they entered politics. We are talking exclusively of earning wealth through corrupt means in politics. For that, we would need to look at the sky-rocketing of wealth after coming into politics. It is very easy to do this, for most of the charges thrown at erstwhile friends do stick. e.g. Narayan Rane, and Bal Thackeray trading charges. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050905/asp/nation/story_5198550.asp
The tiger says, “When he was a Mumbai corporator, he did not even have a house to live in. He owes his wealth to Shiv Sena. I made him the chief minister.” The charge is not corruption here, it is ingratitude. I remember an article in which they had brought out the Midas touch of politics with special reference to Shiv Sena leaders. Can’t get it, and in any case, Shiv Sena and corruption is no news. Everyone knows that the Tamilian Scylla and Charybdis are corrupt. Everyone knows that Behenji is stinking rich. Comrade Pinarayi Vijayan used to be the epitome of corruption, but now the CPM has nade him a saint. I remember seeing a Mathrubhoomi article dated 1948 which castigated Congressmen for corruption.
But better than cursing the darkness is to light a small candle. Each of us turning away from corruption helps. And there are incentives. My cousin, working in quality control at a refinery in Mumbai, was asked to pass a batch of defective gas cylinders. The offer was handsome enough, and he was in need of money. Then he remembered his mother and aunts, his sisters, who all used gas for cooking and he had reason enough to refuse the offer. I have a friend in the police, who was quite “understanding” till his son was discovered a drug addict,getting his fix in his father’s area of jurisdiction. Do I need to elaborate? Once we start accepting responsibility for our actions and remember that we are not on some island, wrong-doing becomes quite difficult.
Just take smoking as a parallel. When we grew up, it was considered the cool thing to do, even though the elders frowned. Now that we are aware of the effects on others, it is not so very cool, and smokers are lesser, even though we do not really frown on it as much as in the old days. Altruism seems to be an inborn trait in humans, even though we are trained to deny it
While Jayadevan has a point, the issue of corruption is one of system, and in this case, a top-down approach will work faster than a bottoms-up approach. While it is definitely possible in many cases for a common citizen to not grease some palms and bear some personal discomfort, there are also many life-or-death situations where one either greases some palms or see one’s loved ones die or suffer (hospital, injury) or have elderly people suffer (retirement funds). Personal responsibility and personal behavior, while definitely worthwhile, necessary and commendable, are limited in their scope to bring about the changes that are needed in the system.
So, it’s better to shift the focus back on our leaders and politicians and policy-makers, and keep pressuring them on this issue.
1. Is “Richest Politicians” by Shankkar Aiyar a book or a lead article in “India Today” magazine? If the latter, what is the date of the issue, please?
2. There seems to be some error in Anand Singh’s ranking or in the value of his stated assets. Since he is ranked seventh, his assets must be lesser than those ranked above him. In reality, however, his stated assets aqre lesser than only the first ranked politician, T.Subbarami Reddy. Kindly clarify.
3. For which year do the assets figures apply?
4. As some Comments have pointed, what would have been germane is to have ascertained how many politicians showed a spectacular rise in assets AFTER entering politics.
On the whole, however, thank you for the info.
Arvind Lavakare
Vikram, Kaffir, Manu, Nanda, Jayadevan: Thanks for sharing your thoughts…
***
Kiran: I will have alook at the link
***
Arvind: Not sure of the date of issue (it is not a book). Online date is February 13, 2009
Re. point no. 2, well spotted…I should check with Empowering India folks
For 3, and 4..I guess we will have to refer to the source data…I will try and check with Empowering India…or you an email them as well.
Shantanu, the richest 10 politicians – your post may create an impression that these top ten have become rich after entering politics, which I think is not the case with possibly any of these 10.
I think you ought to clarify this aspect.
Excerpts from Don’t laugh it off: A humble plea to aspirants by Virendra Parekh (emphasis mine):
…Nearly 40 years after Indira Gandhi took on the Congress Old Guard with the magical slogan of Garibi Hatao and swept the polls in 1971, India’s politicians have managed to accomplish that Herculean feat, albeit only for themselves. So what if India is still a poor country? At least, its netas are no longer poor. As befits true leaders, they lead the fight against poverty from the front by setting personal examples. You may not be able to say this about India, but its politicians are certainly shining.
…It is remarkable that the assets of our Members of Parliaments have risen much faster than the country’s GDP.
There is no slowdown in their march to greater prosperity. Doubling, trebling or quadrupling of assets in five year is quite common for these officially acknowledged representatives of India’s teeming millions. We shall not name names – it could be unfair to others. We shall not give statistics – it could cause heart-burning in a great many bosoms.
…Secondly, the achievements cut across all barriers of parties, regions and age. Each party has its own heroes. East, west, north, south – every region is swarming with great achievers. Age is no bar. If Advani can triple his wealth in five years, Priya Dutt can increase her (economic) assets nine times. The old and the young, the rightist and the leftist, the casteist and the communalist are all in it together.
Finally, the disarming simplicity of some of the highest in the land. We now know that Sonia Gandhi, poor thing, does not have a car or a house. How often though has anyone seen her walking down the street like you and me? And she is the only politician in the country who is often referred to by her address rather than the name. We cannot resist quoting Ghalib:
Is saadagi par kaun na mar jaaye ‘Asad’?
Karte hain katl aur haath mein talavaar bhee nahin
We have no doubt whatsoever that every rupee declared by our leaders to the electorate is hard-earned money, produced by honest labour and brilliant talent.
If only they were to share their little secret with us: how to get rich, so much, and so soon. If only they told us how a middle class man who could not afford a bicycle could own a fleet of cars in less than five years; how a leader of street hawkers can amass Rs. 124 crores in a few years; how a handsome young man with no education worth the name can garner a couple of crores without doing a single day’s work…
This is what Indian voters are yearning to learn from their leaders. And this is election season. The leaders are expected to meet the people and keep them in good humour. Instead of boring people with insipid speeches in thinly attended meetings, if the candidates were to educate the people on how to get rich fast, their meetings would be well attended, they would be heard with rapt attention and they would most certainly be elected with a thumping majority. Wonder why no one thinks of it.
dear beloved citizens,
How we are going to expose them must be our top priority. In this beaureatric environment of politics many other minorities take advantage of this situation and reach the financial filthy rich position in connivance of this type of politics..Even the civic authorities turn blind eye and cause chaos for common man..
why India is the only country inspite of literacy in all the metros still every suburb is dirty with unlimited encroachment of hawkers occupying public infrastructure for which the local state milk the common citizen in form taxes still he has to face chaos everywhere whereever he goes and ultimately succumb to the system??
How this country will prosper where there is no clean markets,wide footpaths,good surface transport with proper facilities as of International standard?
Let us pray to our faith and materialise this dream sooner before our next generation suffers more than us..Please excuse my english at his age(I am 61 yrs) for lack of my high school education this is least possible way of my magic expression!!!!!