Of the 50 flagged for probe, tax officials say 22 gave satisfactory explanations for their new wealth
Highlights
- Tax officials shortlist 28 Bihar lawmakers for penalties
- Explanation for increase in wealth not good enough: tax officers
- Largest constituent is from Janata Dal United
Tax officials have found that 28 lawmakers in Bihar, most of them from the ruling Janata Dal United have assets collectively worth more than Rs 30 crore, and that their wealth is incongruous with their stated sources of income.
Bihar has a total of 243 legislators.
Tax officials say they shortlisted 50 politicians for review based on the statement of wealth declared by them ahead of the last state election in 2015. This group appeared to have accrued an abnormal increase in wealth between their election in 2010 and the new financial details that they provided in 2015 when they sought re-election. This lot comprised legislators from Lalu Prasad's RJD,
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JDU and the BJP. It did not include a single member of the Left.
Of the 50 flagged for investigation, tax officials say 22 were able to provide satisfactory explanations for their new wealth.
The remaining 28 (11 from the JDU,
10 from the RJD and seven from the BJP) will now receive notices demanding penalties and taxes.
Sharfuddin, an MLA from the chief minister's party, said, "I will give the department more papers by the end of this month and hope the matter settles with that."
Arun Yadav, who is a member of Lalu Yadav's party, claimed, "If there's a big jump, it's because my investments gave me good returns."
BJP legislator Arun Sinha said, "It's true that my bank balance has increased but that's because I have a small family and expenses are limited."