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Nothing wrong in MLAs signing loyalty affidavits

Posted in S. Asia

Published on May 27, 2016 with No Comments

Five states get 428 crorepati MLAs: survey
At least 428 MLAs or nearly half of all the winners in recently concluded assembly elections — in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry — are crorepatis, a survey by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said on Friday.
The survey included analysis of poll affidavits filed by as many as 812 elected MLAs, ADR said, while adding that the affidavits for some others could not be taken into account as they were ‘badly scanned’.
Puducherry has the maximum 83 per cent of crorepati MLAs, followed by Tamil Nadu (76 per cent) and Assam (57 per cent). However, only 34 per cent of elected MLAs in West Bengal are crorepatis, while this percentage for Kerala is 44 per cent.
In 2011, Assam had 39 per cent of crorepati MLAs, while Kerala had 25 per cent, Puducherry (63 per cent), Tamil Nadu (51 per cent) and West Bengal (15 per cent).
In Puducherry, 30 MLAs were analysed of which 25 are crorepatis, while in Tamil Nadu 223 MLAs were analysed, with 170 emerging as crorepatis this year.
Assam has 72 crorepatis out of 126 MLAs analysed, Kerala 61 crorepatis of 140 MLAs analysed and West Bengal has 100 crorepatis of 293 analysed, the survey by ADR added.
In Assam, Naren Sonowal of Asom Gana Parishad has total assets of over Rs 33.94 crore, while in Kerala Thomas Chandy of NCP has total assets of more than Rs 92.37 crore.

Allegations of unabashed sycophancy were hurled after newly elected Congress MLAs in West Bengal were made to sign affidavits swearing “unqualified allegiance” to the “party led by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi”.
“I, as a member of the Legislative Assembly, will not get involved in any anti-party activity. Even if I do not agree with any party policy and/or party decision, I will not make any negative comment thereon and/or I shall not take any negative action to the detriment of the party. In such a scenario I shall resign from my post of MLA before making such comment and/or taking such a action (sic),” the affidavit read.
Unperturbed by these charges, West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury defended the move as “spontaneous and voluntary”. “We had a Congress Legislature Party meeting wherein the MLAs decided to sign the affidavit. There is nothing wrong in it. We owe our allegiance to the Congress and it should not be made such a big issue,” he said.
Chaudhury said by signing the affidavit the legislators were merely stating they would not betray the party – their “custodian” – that had given them the chance to contest the polls. “I see nothing wrong or unethical in that.” Adding that the move was informed by what had happened in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh, Chowdhury claimed it was just meant to ensure that the “party trusts us”. Although Chowdhury asserted that his party wasn’t worried about the MLAs being poached, it is apparent that the move meant prevent just that. In 2012, several Congress MLAs had moved to the Trinamool Congress after the two parties ended their alliance. Earlier in 2011 as well, the TMC had poached a sizeable number of Congress MLAs while some had cross-voted during the Rajya Sabha elections. So, Chowdhury and other Congress leaders decided that making the new legislators sign sworn affidavits would prevent a repeat. On the other side, the BJP lashed out at the Congress by calling the affidavit signing “bonded labour” and a case of sycophancy in play. Speaking with the media, Kailash Vijayvargiya, the general secretary in charge of the party in Bengal, said, “It’s very unfortunate that to show their loyalty to the Congress leadership, the legislators needed to sign on Rs 100 stamp papers. This has happened for the first time in this country. This is not loyalty towards the leadership but a sign of slavery.” In the recent assembly election, Congress won 44 of Bengal’s 294 seats, taking over from its ally, the Left Front, as the main opposition party.

 

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