Vice-president and NDA-backed independent candidate Bhairon Singh Singh Shekhwat on Friday made a voluntary public declaration of his assets and liabilities, which showed that he holds a bank balance of Rs 25.60 lakh and Rs 1 lakh in cash.
His wife Suraj Kanwar is richer, with Rs 25.86 lakh in fixed deposits, Rs 1.25 lakh in cash and Rs 5,849 in savings accounts. The vice-president?s declaration comes after the Election Commission rejected leader of the Opposition LK Advani?s demand that presidential candidates be asked to disclose their assets following a number of allegations against UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil.
Shekhwat, who is pitted against Patil in a bitter battle for the Rainsina Hills, owns jewellery worth Rs 1 lakh while his wife?s gold ornaments amount to Rs 5.25 lakh and silver utensils are worth Rs 3.90 lakh.
While releasing his assets and liabilities, Shekhawat?s spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said since there was no official format for a presidential candidate to declare the same, he had used the performa applicable to MPs, MLAs and MLCs. When asked about the assets and liabilities of Shekhawat?s son-in-law, against whom the ruling Congress has leveled allegations, Swaraj said, ?One could be made responsible only for himself/herself, spouse and dependent children.?
According to the declaration, Shekhawat?s wife owns an Ambassador of 1980 make while Shekhawat has an Army-disposed vehicle registered in his name. He owns less than 1 hectares in a village in Sikar district of Rajasthan. His wife has 6.28 hectares in a village in Jaipur district. It showed that Shekhawat has 1/16th share in an ancestral house in Khachariawas village in Rajasthan.
His wife, however, owns a 1,000-sq-yard plot in Jaipur, whose present value is estimated at Rs 1.54 crore. There is another 650-sq-yard plot, worth Rs 55 lakh, in Jaipur, which has been put in a disputed claim category in her name.
Cases are pending in Rajasthan courts over 22.8 bhigas listed in Kanwar?s disputed claims column in the declaration. Both the husband and wife owe no dues to banks or to any government department.