60 out of 70 MLAs did not declare assets, AAP leader accuses

AAP leader Anoop Nautiyal today filed a complaint with the Election Commission, accusing 60 out of 70 members of the Uttarakhand Assembly, including Chief Minister Harish Rawat and Leader of Opposition Ajay Bhatt, of not declaring their assets before the Speaker.
Terming it as a gross violation of the guidelines, he urged the Commission to conduct an inquiry into the findings thrown up by an RTI query and act against the MLAs if they were found guilty.
"An RTI query reveals that 44 out of a total of 70 members of the current state Assembly never declared their assets before the Speaker since their election in 2012, while 16 other legislators including Chief Minister Harish Rawat, his predecessor Vijay Bahuguna and Leader of Opposition in the assembly Ajay Bhattdid not declare their assets in 2014-2015.

Contending that the declaration of assets by MLAs within three months of their election to the State Assembly and then on an yearly basis by the month of June is mandatory as per Ministers and Legislators (Publication of Assets and Liabilities)Act 1975, Nautiyal said it was "gross violation of the Election Commission guidelines".
Expressing hope that the Commission will take note of the points raised by him, the AAP leader said it should conduct an inquiry into the complaint and ask the MLAs in question to furnish declaration of their assets and liabilities within the stipulated time-frame and initiate steps to terminate their membership if they fail to do so.

A senior AAP leader, Nautiyal had unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha polls from Tehri.