Submit asset info Or face stick, Meira warns MPs

More than two weeks after Lok Sabha (LS) Speaker Meira Kumar threatened 51 MPs with breach of privilege if they failed to provide information about their assets and liabilities, only about six members have responded.

More than two weeks after Lok Sabha (LS) Speaker Meira Kumar threatened 51 MPs with breach of privilege if they failed to provide information about their assets and liabilities, only about six members have responded.

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In a stern letter to parliamentary party leaders on April 5, Kumar asked them to direct their defaulting MPs to submit the information.

The defaulters — nearly half of whom are from the Congress — include Lalu Prasad, Tapas Pal, Babulal Marandi, Digvijay Singh, Kalyan Singh , Deepender Singh Hooda, Rao Inderjit Singh, Avtar Singh Badana and Sanjay Singh.
MPs are required to submit the information within 90 days of taking oath. “Despite the fact that the period of 90 days has lapsed in August-September 2009, the requisite information is still awaited from some members of your party,” Kumar’s letter to the party leaders said.

She noted that the LS secretariat had sent six reminders and nine LS bulletins had requested for the information. Kumar drew attention to Section 75 (A)(5) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, under which any wilful contravention of the LS rules by a member can be dealt with “in the same manner as a breach of privilege of the House”. Breach of privilege can lead to loss of membership of the House.