Rajya Sabha members no longer have to declare their assets within four days of acquiring them. Instead, they need to file declarations only by the year-end, as in the case of tax returns. It was based on the arguments of businessman Lalit Suri that the Ethics Committee of the Upper House made the changes in the Rajya Sabha Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Rules, 2004.This episode is described in detail in the recently released fourth report of the Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha headed by Dr. Karan Singh.Suri was the first MP to argue that it was impractical for MPs engaged in trade, business and industry to be giving an account of their ever-changing assets to the public frequently.Finding merit in Suri’s case, the committee scanned other legislative systems and found that barring Australia, all the legislatures with asset declaration clauses required members to give an annual statement only. In Australia, however, members would have to make the declarations within 28 days. The report of the ethics committee, formally adopted on January 10, was recently placed in the Rajya Sabha. It says while MPs were so far only required to furnish details of their assets and liabilities, they would now also have to declare their ‘‘pecuniary’ interests. These have been identified as remunerative directorship of companies, shareholding of a controlling nature in companies, paid consultancy and professional engagement.
