HYDERABAD: The total assets of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his family has spiked by over 12.5 crore in a year, his son Nara Lokesh declared on Wednesday evening. Mr Naidu has been voluntarily disclosing his family's assets and liabilities every year for the last 8 years, in a show of transparency.
Earlier this year, an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms had found Mr Naidu to be the richest Chief Minister of the country with declared assets of Rs. 177 crore in his election affidavit.
But going by the 68-year-old chief minister's voluntary disclosure, based on the rates at which assets were acquired, in over a year, the value of the Naidu family's combined assets has touched Rs. 81.83 crore from Rs. 69.28 crore -- a jump of Rs. 12.55 crore.
The assets of Mr Naidu have gone up from Rs. 2.53 crore to nearly Rs. 3 crore. His wife's assets however, have grown significantly - from Rs. 25 crore to Rs. 31 crore. Properties in the name of Nara Lokesh -- Mr Naidu's son and the state's information minister -- and the Chief Minister's minor grandson Devaansh, has showed similar growth.
Nara Lokesh's assets, worth Rs. 15.21 crore last year, stand at Rs. 21.40 crore now. The value of the property in the name of his three-year-old son Devaansh has gone up to Rs. 18.71 crore against last year's Rs. 11.54 crore.
Last year, when the businessman-turned-politician contested in the Legislative Council elections, he had declared assets worth Rs. 330 crore -- up from less than Rs. 15 crore a few months before. The 35-year-old said the jump was because his voluntary disclosure was done taking the face value of shares, which is the rate at which he acquired them. But in the election affidavit, he declared their market value.
The value of the assets his wife Brahmini, however, has taken a nosedive. From last year's Rs.15.01 crore, it now stands at Rs. 7.72 crore.
Mr Naidu has been outspoken about a series of raids by the Income Tax department on various state leaders. These raids, he said, were evidence of "political vendetta". His minister K Srinivasalu had alleged that the raids were meant to deter development in the state.
He also said the raids were creating panic among investors and businessmen, and were a great hindrance for tourists from outside the state.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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Bhopal, Mar 28: Nakul Nath, the lone Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh who has been renominated from Chhindwara by his party, has declared assets worth nearly Rs 700 crore, according to his election affidavit.
Nath is among the 113 candidates who have filed their nomination papers for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in the central state on April 19. The filing of nomination papers for this phase drew to a close on Wednesday.
As per his affidavit, Nakul Nath's wealth has gone up by Rs 40 crore in the past five years.
In his latest submission to the Election Commission, Nakul Nath has declared movable property, including cash, shares and bonds, worth Rs 649.51 crore and Rs 48.07 crore of immovable property.
The sitting Chhindwara MP, son of former chief minister and influential Congress leader Kamal Nath, had topped the list of 475 Lok Sabha crorepati members in 2019, according to the non-profit Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).
According to ADR, the entrepreneur politician had declared assets worth Rs 660 crore in 2019 when he contested from Chhindwara, the pocket borough of his father, and emerged as the only Congress winner in the state.
That year, the BJP had won 28 of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh.
Kamal Nath, who successfully contested from Chhindwara, had declared assets worth Rs 134 crore in his poll affidavit ahead of last year's assembly elections, according to ADR.
Notably, Nakul Nath frequently uses an aircraft but does not have a car, according to his affidavit.
To breach the citadel of the Naths, the BJP is raking up Kamal Nath's flying machines to script a narrative of wealthy-versus-commoner after pitting its candidate Vivek Sahu against Nakul Nath.
The Congress has been on a winning streak from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat since 1952, it has lost just once to the BJP. Kamal Nath had won this seat for a record nine times.
"A big Congress leader. A very big leader... keeps two, not one, helicopters at his house. When he returns, he lands the chopper right inside his home. He had been an MP chief minister," Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had said at an election rally in Sidhi recently.
Yadav said his government had decided that there would be a helicopter but the poor will have access to it. "To rush poor people to hospitals for urgent treatment," Yadav had said, seeking to shed light on the state's recently launched air ambulance service for citizens during medical emergencies.
BJP candidate Sahu has also attacked the former CM over his helicopter use during public outreaches. According to locals, Nath has two helipads at his residence in the Shikrapur area of Chhindwara.