LK Sudhish's moveable assets value up 336 per cent in five years

CHENNAI: Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan, former Union ministers Anbumani Ramadoss and T R Baalu and DMDK leader L K Sudhish were among those who filed their nominations for the April 18 Lok Sabha elections on Friday. Their affidavits made interesting reading as this was the first time candidates had to disclose their assets for the past five years.

The Supreme Court, in a ruling, had made it mandatory for candidates to disclose assets and incomes of their dependents which would also be part of the income of the candidates.

The affidavit of Sudhish, who filed his nomination as the DMDK candidate for Kallakurichi , showed that the value of his assets and those of his dependents (wife, children and mother) had increased from ₹33.91 crore in 2014 to ₹60.17 crore in 2019 (77%). However, as per the income tax return filed by Sudhish, his income dropped by 53% between 2013-14 and 2017-18 and his wife’s income was down by 95% during the same period.

The value of his moveable assets increased by 336% between 2014 and 2019. In the affidavit filed during the 2014 Lok Sabha poll from Salem constituency, Sudhish and his dependents had moveable assets worth ₹3.93 crore, but the affidavit filed on Friday put the value of such assets at ₹17.18 crore.

Value of immoveable assets of MP Jayavardhan down by Rs 10 lakh

Between 2014 and 2019, Sudhish acquired a new 2017 model multipurpose vehicle worth ₹20 lakh. His wife acquired a 2018 BMW worth ₹53.49 lakh and his mother a 2016 Mercedes Benz worth ₹25 lakh. The value of the family’s jewellery increased from ₹74.15 lakh to ₹1.12 crore and his wife also paid an advance of ₹75 lakh towards a villa to Aurum Pacific.

The family’s immoveable assets increased from ₹29.97 crore to ₹42.99 crore and this is mostly due to increase in value of land and buildings.

Meanwhile, the value of immoveable assets of South

Chennai MP J Jayavardhan, who is the son of state minister D Jayakumar, and his spouse came down by ₹10.77 lakh compared to 2014. His affidavit showed their moveable assets had increased marginally in the last five years. Compared to the affidavit filed in 2014 and 2019, the value of one parcel of land in Kanathur Reddy Kuppam village in Kancheepuram district, have come down by ₹10.77 lakh though no land has been sold and the measurements are the same in both the affidavits.

“Now that the papers are in the public domain, it is for the government agencies to look into the papers and decide whether everything shown by the candidates are correct,” said former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami.