The Delhi High Court has expressed concerns over pending government dues from past and present legislators. For effective recovery of dues, defaulters should be made to bear some hardships.
THE DELHI High Court has rightly expressed concerns over pending government dues (such as those relating to house rent, water, electricity, government-hotels) from past and present legislators. It would have been better if instead of reacting harshly, defaulters were made to bear some hardships for effective recovery of dues from defaulting parliamentarians.
There should be an automatic deduction of dues from the salary/perks/pensions payable to such parliamentarians. Defaulters should be barred from contesting any upcoming elections or holding any official post till all their dues are cleared, and non-entitled government accommodation, occupied by them, is vacated. Pensions and other payables should be withheld till former parliamentarians vacate such government accommodation. The names of existing or former defaulting prime ministers/ parliamentarians/ ministers, should be displayed prominently on websites of both houses of Parliament.
A similar rule should be applied to defaulting former prime ministers who owe dues towards the Indian Air Force for use of IAF planes for non-official purposes. Political parties affiliated to such defaulting Prime Ministers should be de-recognised and debarred from contesting elections.
All state honours/protocols/government-facilities/pensions/accommodations, should be withdrawn from such defaulting prime ministers during their lifetime or from their survivors, after their death. It is shameful that huge amounts of money have yet to be recovered from some former prime ministers including a large sum from late Chandra Shekhar Singh.