By IANS,
Kolkata : Assets declared by at least 12 sitting West Bengal legislators – including Industry Minister Nirupam Sen and state Congress chief Manas Bhuniya – contesting in the fourth and fifth phases of the assembly polls, have increased by at least Rs.20 lakh each, an election watchdog said Thursday.”At least 39 MLAs (legislators) are re-contesting in the fourth and fifth phases of the state assembly election and after analysing their assets mentioned in their 2006 affidavits with that mentioned this year, it was found that the assets of Left Front’s ally Samajwadi Party’s candidate Brahmamay Nanda – brother of Fisheries Minister Kironmoy Nanda – have increased by whopping 275 percent in the last five years,” West Bengal Election Watch coordinator Biplab Halim said.
In 2006, Brahmamay Nanda’s assets amounted to Rs.37,54,872 but now worth Rs 1,03,36,182.
Besides, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) legislator Swadesh Ranjan Nayak, who had a total asset of Rs.81,44,427 in 2006 has now Rs.1,70,80,116.
Sen has an increase of 150 percent to his assets in the last five years.
According to the affidavit, Sen’s assets increased to more than Rs.36 lakh in 2011 from a little more than Rs.14 lakh in 2006, Halim said.
Bhuniya’s assets have registered an increase of 61 percent, by more than Rs.75 lakh to Rs. 1,98,42,961 now from Rs.1,22,93,607 in 2006.
In percentage terms, the assets of CPI-M’s Swapan Ghosh assets shot up by 936 percent while the assets of his colleagues Saumendranath Bera and Niyananda Chakraborty have registered an increase of 836 and 606 percent respectively, said Halim.