Union Cabinet Expansion 2021: Of 78 ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new Union cabinet, at least 42 percent of them have criminal cases against them, a report published by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) poll rights group stated.

Of these, four have cases related to murder attempts, the report stated.

During the Union Cabinet Expansion 2021, PM Narendra Modi allocated portfolios to the newly-inducted lawmakers after their oath-taking ceremony on Wednesday.

ADR, in its analysis of the Union council of ministers in the 17th Lok Sabha, cited election affidavits to highlight that 33 ministers (42 percent) have criminal cases against them. Of these, 24 ministers (31 percent of the total number of members) have serious criminal cases against them, including murder, attempt to murder, or robbery cases.

It is worth mentioning here that ADR is a poll rights group that publishes reports ahead of elections. It tallies affidavits to find out the criminal, financial, and other background details of politicians.

Also, over 90 percent of members of the new Union cabinet (70 ministers) were found to be millionaires. Yes, you read it right. They have total assets amounting to over Rs 10 million (one crore), the ADR report stated.

Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia has over Rs 379 crore), Piyush Goyal over Rs 95 crore, Narayan Rane over Rs 87 crore, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar over Rs 64 crore. ADR categorized them as 'high asset ministers' with assets worth more than Rs 50 crore.

It may be noted that the average worth of assets per minister was found to be around Rs 16.24 crore.