Since his first year in the office, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been insisting the union ministers to disclose their assets to public. Now, he has reportedly taken strong note on the repugnance of the Union ministers to make their assets public. PM has expressed annoyance when he came to know the fact that several Union ministers have avoided disclosing their assets to public.

PM had asked all ministers to file their asset statements per year to ensure transparency in public life but none of the ministers are understood to have filed the statements till yet. The ministers missed three deadlines in March 2005, March 2006 and March 2007 to declare their assets.

When the PMO informed Manmohan Singh that several ministers have failed to file their annual statements despite strict instructions from the PMO, Singh ordered Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar to ask all the ministers to file statements of their personal assets and liabilities to the PMO as soon as possible.

However, some other government officials have described PM’s order as a routine annual exercise to make sure the transparency in public life. On the other hand, the Cabinet Secretary issued a circular on October 30 to all ministers and asked them to submit their statements for three financial years since 2004. The UPA government had assumed office in May 2004. According to the circular, the ministers will have to give details of their business interests and that of their family members if any.