People of India has now access of the assets, at least of the white portion, of the rulers of India courtesy the rules of Election Commission. Every candidate for both the houses at the center and the state are to file an affidavit giving one’s asset and its worth, beside his educational qualification and some other details. Since last two days, Mayawati’s wealth is on the front page of a national daily that claims to have the largest circulation. I don’t know the motive of giving importance to the news. . Mayawati, 51, who swept Mulayam Singh Yadav out of power recently had not contested the assembly election. As per the law, she is now seeking a berth in the Upper House, as she is CM and wishes to continue too. And Mayawati’s declaration of her latest assets came in affidavit that is accessible to the people.

According to the affidavit, she does not own a car, agricultural or non-agricultural land. But she owns ”commercial and residential space”. The CM’s assets, are: Cash: Rs 50.27 lakh; Deposits in banks, financial institutions and non-banking financial companies: Rs 12.88 lakh; Jewellery: Rs 50.87 lakh; Diamonds: 380.17 carat: Rs 49.75 lakh; a 18.5-kg silver dinner set costing Rs 1.12 lakh; murals worth Rs 15 lakh; two commercial establishments in Connaught Place, New Delhi, priced at Rs 2.05 crore and Rs 1.27 crore and another commercial establishment at Okhla which is priced at Rs 15.50 crore. Lucknow residence is shown at Nehru Road in the Cantonment priced Rs 97.42 lakh; Delhi residence on Sardar Patel Marg priced Rs 18.02 crore. Mayawati today clarified that all her assets have come from small donations from the thousands of her party members. She has also paid the required taxes, so this is all legal. Is it not a lucrative way of becoming crorepati? Should she become the model for our young Dalit friends and emulated? It will be interesting to now what the top judiciary opines.

For record, the other crorepati politicians, as reported in media based on their affidavits with the Election Commission, are Manmohan Singh (Rs 4 crore), Sarad Pawar (1.3 crore plus 1.6 crore of wife), L. K. Advani (1.1 crore plus 17.7 lakh of wife), Chandrababu Naidu (1.6 crore plus 19.3 crore of wife), O. P. Chautala, the former CM of Haryana (4.8 crore plus 1.32 crore of wife), Vilasrao Deshmukh (Rs. 3.3 crore), M. Karunanidhi (Rs 26.5 crore), and Jayalalithaa (Rs 24.6 crore). Mulayam Yadav is worth only Rs 3 crore plus additional Rs 77 lakh with his wife Sadhana), though Rajat Sharma in his popular ‘Aapki Adalat’ used to talk of very huge amount. As already reported, the present CM of Punjab Barnala’s assets are huge some claiming as high as Rs 1000 crore or more. Surprisingly, Sonia Gandhi (81 Lakh), Lalu Prasad (23.8 lakh plus Rs 37 of wife Rabri Devi plus Rs 29 lakh for children), Atal Bihari Bajpayee are all sort of a crore. Should the figure provided to EC be believed? Will their actual worth be very much more than the figures provided in affidavits? I don’t know what are the value of the assets owned by Nitish Kumar and Budhadev Bhattacharya. Are they the Kamraj and Lal Bahadur Shastri class?

Except for perhaps Manmohan Singh none might have earned through their professional career. Mawayati started her career as a teacher in a Delhi administration school, and then she did her law too, but she has grown rich through politics. Mayawati at least openly confesses. Again hardly, these politicians have inherited the assets that have grown. Mayawati’s father worked in the department of post, and has retired as a senior clerk. The family lives in Inderpuri in Delhi. To be frank, I don’t know about other political leaders. Neither have I researched.

Many TV channels made the news an important one today. But will it carry any negative message to the masses who vote them to power. As some thinkers feel, at least the followers of Mayawati take it as an achievement of a Dalit?

Perhaps, the news will certainly make the others in business of politics greedier and more corrupt.