Cabinet lines up steps to bell the cat
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 16 2011:
In a significant development aimed at curbing corruption in high places, a Cabinet Sub-Committee has been formed to record assets of SPF Ministers and MLAs of the ruling coalition.
according to an informed source the Committee, headed by Revenue Minister Th Debendra, was constituted on the directive of the Union Home Minister to evaluate assets and liabilities of the Ministers and MLAs and to furnish the details to the Union Minister.
Maintaining that the Union Minister had issued the directive some months back and which the State Government obliged to only recently, the source disclosed that State Cabinet minutely discussed the directive on May 11 and subsequently finalising a four-member Committee under the leadership of Th Debendra.
An order to this effect is said to have been consequently issued by the Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh on
May 13 .
The three other Committee members include Information Minister TN Haokip, Education Minister DD Thaiisi, and Irrigation and Flood Control Minister N Biren Singh.
Not ruling out possibility of the Committee filing a report on the code of conduct of SPF Ministers, the source said the panel is supposed to place relevant information with regard to assets and liabilities of Ministers and MLAs to the Governor, who will submit the said report to P Chidambaram.
The Union Home Minister's directive and subsequent decision of the SPF Government to set up the Committee assumes significance in the face of the BJP and other Opposition political parties levelling corruption charges against Ministers and ruling front MLAs.
Moreover, the Congress Government of Assam had already gone a step ahead on the said issue as the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and his Ministerial colleagues have already declared their respective assets, just prior to the recently held Assembly polls.