Assets of 71 MPs grew by 286 pc since 2009: ADR report
New Delhi, Feb 3: The assets of 71 MPs, who were re-elected to the Lok Sabha between 2009 and 2019, grew by a whopping 286 per cent on an average and the highest increase was recorded by the BJP's Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi, according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Friday.
The total worth of Jigajinagi's assets, which was about Rs 1.18 crore in 2009, went up to Rs 8.94 crore in 2014 and further to Rs 50.41 crore in 2019, registering an overall increase of 4,189 per cent, the report noted, referring to the self-sworn affidavits submitted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader during the Lok Sabha elections held in the respective years.
Re-elected to the Lower House of Parliament for a sixth consecutive term in 2019, the MP from Karnataka's Bijapur served as the Union minister of state for drinking water and sanitation from July 2016 to May 2019 in the previous term of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to the report by ADR-National Election Watch, another BJP MP from Karnataka, PC Mohan, grabbed the second spot in the list of the top 10 members of Parliament who registered an increase in their assets between 2009 and 2019.
Mohan, who was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from the Bengaluru Central constituency in 2019, had declared assets worth about Rs 5.37 crore in the 2009 parliamentary polls. The figure climbed up to Rs 75.55 crore in 10 years, showing an increase of 1,306 per cent, the report noted.
The assets of BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who was re-elected from Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit for a third consecutive term in the last Lok Sabha election, rose from Rs 4.92 crore in 2009 to Rs 60.32 crore in 2019, the report noted.
According to the report, the assets of Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the Shiromani Akali Dal MP from Bhathinda, went up from Rs 60.31 crore in 2009 to Rs 217.99 crore in 2019, registering a rise of 261 per cent.
"Assets of Supriya Sadanand Sule of the NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) from the Baramati constituency (in Maharashtra) have increased by Rs 89.35 crore (173 per cent), from Rs 51.53 crore in 2009 to Rs 140.88 crore in 2019," the report said.
The assets of Pinaki Misra, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP from Puri in Odisha, climbed by 296 per cent (Rs 87.78 crore), from Rs 29.69 crore in 2009 to Rs 117.47 crore in 2019, the report added.
It noted that the average assets of the 71 MPs, including independents, was Rs 6.15 crore in 2009.
The report pegged the average growth in their assets from 2009 to 2019 at Rs 17.59 crore, an increase of 286 per cent.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
