Seventy-five of the 250 leaders who have held the post of either the prime minister or minister since 1990 have still not submitted completed property valuation forms that the judicial commission to investigate assets handed out earlier this year. Among these, surprisingly, are comrades who never tire of talking about equality and good morals.

Information from reliable sources says the lit of defaulters includes former ministers such as former Minister for Education Deviprasad Ojha, former Minister of Local Development and Transport Chandra Prakash Mainali, former Agriculture Minister Trilochan Dhakal, former Minister of Industry Hemraj Rai, former Minister for Tourism Yamlal Kandel, and former Assistant Minister for Information and Communication Yagyaraj Neupane. Even Hariprasad Pandey, former Minister of State for Water Resources in the CPN-UML government has not filled in the forms yet, even though he was recently in the news for owning up to corruption. Other comrades in the CPN-UML government who have not filled in their property valuation forms include former minister without portfolio in the Home Ministry Bhim Bahadur Kadayat, former Minister of State for Labour Govindanath Uprety, former Minister of Tourism Salim Miya Ansari, former Minister of State for Health Bharat Bahadur Pradhan, and former Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs Sitanandan Raya.

Three ministers in the present government of Sher Bahadur Deuba are also on the list, including Minister of State for Housing and Development Keshav Thapa and Assistant Minister for Water Resources Birendra Kanaudiya. Likewise Lokendra Bahadur Chand, who was a Rastriya Prajatantra Party prime minister, Prakash Chandra Lohani, Rabindranath Sharma, Kamal Thapa and Padma Sundar Lawoti have not turned in their forms either.

When the forms were handed out, the judicial commission asked respondents to return them in 15 days. There are currently about 40 Nepali Congress leaders and former ministers who have not done so, including Laxman Ghimire, Shailaja Acharya, Arjun Narsingh KC, Narhari Acharya, Bimalendra Nidhi, Prakashman Singh, KB Gurung, and Interim Finance Minister Devendraraj Pandey.

Congress lawyer Mukunda Regmi, former attorney generals Sarwogyaratna Tuladhar and Motikaji Sthapit, and government attorney Balram KC have also disobeyed the commission's order. Ninety percent of those in the legal service have already submitted their forms, but National Planning Commission member Rameshananda Vaidya has still not done so.

Commission sources say CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Nepal and member Bamdev Gautam have already given in their property valuations.