New Delhi: An analysis of self-declared affidavits of outgoing Lok Sabha MPs shows that 19 from Andhra Pradesh have an average annual self-income of Rs 1.05 crore, the highest among all MPs in the country.
The figures also reveal an inverse relationship between educational qualification and income -- 106 or 22 per cent of MPs who are graduates have an average annual self income of Rs 41.28 lakh while six MPs who have declared their educational qualification as Class 5 pass have an average annual self-income of Rs 1.41 crore.
The analysis by the Association of Democratic Rights (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) of the affidavits of 479 Lok Sabha MPs submitted before the 2014 general elections also reveals that Odisha, one of the poorest states, sends some of the richest MPs to Parliement. The ADR-NEW figures show that after Andhra Pradesh, the state's 15 MPs have the second highest average annual self-income of Rs 68.8 lakh.
Other states and MPs who figure in the top 10 in this category comprising states and union territories are Gujarat's 24 MPs (Rs 59.5 lakh), Punjab's 13 MPs (Rs 51.4 lakh), Haryana's 10 MPs (Rs 42.6 lakh), Jharkhand's 14 MPs (Rs 39.07 lakh), Assam's 13 MPs (Rs 32.7 lakh), Uttar Pradesh's 72 MPs (Rs 32.03 lakh), Rajasthan's 20 MPs (Rs 30.7 lakh) and Telangana's 14 MPs (Rs 30.6 lakh).
BJP's Kirron Kher, the lone MP from Chandigarh, declared an annual self-income of Rs 1.72 crore.
The analysis does not comprise all Lok Sabha MPs. The ADR-NEW report said that 42 MPs who did not declare their income had not been included for purposes of the analysis.
Two MPs from Goa have the lowest average annual self-income of Rs 5.2 lakh, followed by 33 MPs from Tamil Nadu with an average annual self-income of Rs 7.2 lakh. Just above them on the list are five Uttarakhand MPs with average annual self-income of Rs 7.5 lakh. This figure for nine Chhattisgarh MPs is Rs 9.21 lakh, for 17 Kerala MPs Rs 10.5 lakh and for 23 Madhya Pradesh MPs it is Rs 10.65 lakh.
The analysis also finds a link between professions and income.
Sixteen MPs from the world of showbiz - actors, filmmakers and singers - have an average annual self-income of Rs 1.06 crore, followed by 40 MPs in the agriculture and business category who have an average annual self-income of Rs 75.2 lakh, and then six MPs from the business and politics category with an annual self-income of Rs 59.3 lakh.
That apart, 98 MPs whose profession is business have an average annual self-income of Rs 43.6 crore while the figure for 35 MPs who are lawyers and advocates is Rs 23.9 lakh. These are the top 5 professions that figure highest on the income list.
The other 5 are 50 MPs/MLAs (Rs 23.9 lakh), 39 in the miscellaneous category (Rs 17.5 lakh), 21 doctors (Rs 14.98 lakh), 34 social workers (Rs 14.3 lakh) and pensioners/retired persons (Rs 13.65 lakh).
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